Silverstone Classic, 25 – 27 July 2014
The 2014 Silverstone Classic enjoyed three days of perfect
weather for competitors and spectators alike, although the action
may have been too hot for some. A full programme of 22 races
over the weekend, together with qualifying sessions, ‘90s GT
Legends demonstration runs each day, plus parade laps, meant
that there was virtually none stop track action. Apart from the
track activity there was also a vast array of other things for all
members of the family to enjoy, whether it be the numerous car
club displays, a free ride on the BMW Big Wheel, the funfair, the
shopping village, the art display, the Street Car Shootouts, the
activity zone, off-road Range Rover rides, a live rock music stage,
which included sets by Bonnie Tyler and Canned Heat, and
numerous other attractions. The activity wasn’t only on the
ground, as there were dawn and dusk hot air balloon fly-outs,
helicopter rides, the Red Devils Freefall Parachute Team display,
the Wildcat Aerobatic Team display, and as part of the 50th
anniversary of the Ford Mustang, a pair of P51 Mustang fighter
planes gave a display at lunchtime on the Saturday.
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The racing action started on the Saturday morning, with the first
of 12 races that day, which was for Historic Formula Junior cars
with a massive 52-car grid, which featured plenty of entertaining
dices throughout the field. However, it was at the head of the pack
where the closest action lay, with pole sitter David Methley in his
Brabham BT6 having a massive dice with Sam Wilson, Lotus
22/20 mounted, which ended when Methley spun whilst passing
some back markers, handing the race win to Wilson. In the
second race on Sunday, Wilson once again ran out the winner,
but Methley kept it on the island to finish 3rd behind Jonathan
Milicevic, who took his second runner-up spot of the weekend.
The second race of the meeting was for Classic F3 cars, the first
time for these cars at the Silverstone Classic, and attracted a
large entry of models from the mid’70s to early ‘80s, that had
been raced by a number of famous names in their formative
years, including Gerhard Berger, Riccardo Patrese, and the man
whose name the trophy wore, Brian Henton. The podium in both
Saturday and Sunday races was identical, with Nick Padmore
taking victory on both occasions from Martin Stretton and David
Shaw.
Race 3 on Saturday was for under 2 litre saloon cars, and
provided great entertainment from the “tin top brigade”, with wheel
lifting antics through the bends, plus a few close encounters and
paint swapping. The 50 minute race was fittingly won by a Lotus
Cortina, in the 50th anniversary year of Jim Clark winning the
British Saloon Car Championship in that model, with the example
of Meaden / Tromans taking the win. Jon Minshaw and Philip
Keen took the win in the Sir Stirling Moss Trophy for Pre ’61
Sports Cars from the Lister Jaguar Costin of Chris Ward, with the
Ferrari Dino 246 S of Leventis / Verdon-Roe taking the final
podium spot.
The first FIA Masters Historic Formula One race of the weekend
was red flagged, after the Ensign N173 of veteran campaigner
Sidney Hoole had a big accident, and proceedings had to be
halted while he was extricated and the debris cleared, whilst he
was taken to hospital with a leg and chest injuries. From the
re-start the pole sitting Michael Lyons Hesketh 308E led until the
last lap, when he suffered a puncture, handing victory to the
Fittipaldi F5A of Ollie Hancock, who had fought his way up from
7th on the grid. 2nd place went to the Benetton liveried Tyrell 012
driven by Martin Stretton, with the final podium spot going to
Christophe d’Ansembourg in a Williams FW07/C. The second
race early on Sunday afternoon, saw a tight battle between the
cars of Hancock, Stretton, Hartley in an Arrows A4 (who had
retired from Saturday’s race when well placed) and initially Lyons,
until he once again suffered problems that dropped him down the
order. Stretton put a brave move on Hancock on lap 6 to take the
lead which he never relinquished to take the win, with Hartley also
getting past shortly afterwards to claim the 2nd spot on the
podium. D’Ansembourg once again took the final spot, after
Hancock was baulked passing a back-marker in the closing
stages.
Race 6 was the Jet Super Touring Car Trophy, which was won by
the Honda Accord driven by James Dodd after a race long duel
with Stewart Whyte in a similar machine. 3rd place went to former
BTCC Champion John Cleland’s Vauxhall Vectra, after a great
battle with the Renault Laguna of Simon Garrard and the Alfa
Romeo 156 of Neil Smith. In the second race on Sunday
afternoon, there was a tremendous dice between World Touring
Car star Rob Huff, driving the Ford Mondeo raced by Richard
Meins on Saturday, and the Honda Accord of James Dodd. After
two laps Huff made a move stick, but Dodd appeared glued to his
back bumper, and only 0.710sec separated them at the
chequered flag.
The one hour race for Pre ’66 GT Cars saw a great solo drive from
Sean McInerney to take the win in his TVR Griffith, from the
Jaguar E-Type of Nathan and Laurence Kinch. The race featured
another massive grid with an eclectic array of cars, ranging from
MGBs and Austin Healeys to Aston Martins AC Cobras and Iso
Grifos. There were two memorial races to the late Sir Jack
Brabham, and fittingly both were won by a car bearing his name,
namely Jason Minshaw in a Brabham BT8, followed home on
each occasion by the Brabham BT11 of John Fairley.
Unfortunately Sunday’s race, the third from last on the
programme, was marred by a fatal accident to veteran Austin
Healey guru and campaigner, Denis Welch, on the opening lap,
which brought out the red flag. He was extricated from the car and
taken to the circuit medical centre, where he succumbed to his
injuries.
The 50th anniversary celebrations for the Ford Mustang witnessed
two Celebration Trophy races, together with what was believed to
be the biggest “Pony Car” parade in Europe. The race grids
encompassed no less than thirty of the revered model, along with
a number of their period rivals, including the Falcon model from
the same stable. Both races saw some exciting battles, notably
at the head of the field, with Leo Voyazides narrowly beating Mike
Gardiner on both occasions, winning the second race only after
Gardiner made an error and spun, but collected it quickly enough
to retain his 2nd place. They were both Ford Falcon mounted, so
it was left to Tom Roche to uphold Mustang honours with a 3rd
place in each race.
Philip Walker claimed a fairly straightforward race win in race 10,
the Maserati Trophy for HGPCA Pre ’61 Grand Prix Cars, leading
from start-to-finish in his Lotus 16. Initially he was pushed hard by
Julian Bronson’s Scarab Offenhauser, but his challenge faded and
he had to settle for a lonely second place, comfortably ahead of
the TecMec Maserati of Tony Wood. In the second race on
Sunday the podium was identical, although Bronson was much
closer to the top step of the podium than he had been in
Saturday’s race. The penultimate race on Saturday’s schedule
was the FIA Masters Historic Sports Car Race of 50mins
duration, which was dominated by Lola T70s after Martin
O’Connell’s Chevron B19 retired while leading around half
distance. They filled the top four positions at the chequered flag,
with Leo Voyazides / Simon Hadfield standing on the top step of
the podium. The Ferrari 512 M had an early spin which dropped it
way down the field, but when Jamie Campbell-Walter took the
wheel, he put in a stirring performance to haul it back to an 8th
place finish. Saturday’s on track activity concluded with a twilight
race for Group C cars from the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, with a
second helping on the Sunday afternoon. After an early battle with
the Nissan R90CK driven by Katsu Kubota, it was the Mercedes
C11 of Bob Berridge that dominated the race, a feat that he
repeated even more comfortably in the second race on Sunday
afternoon. The Nissan finished 2nd in Saturday’s race, but retired
on Sunday, when the runner-up was Justin Law in a Jaguar XJR8
resplendent in its purple and white Silk Cut livery.
Sunday morning’s Woodcote Trophy 60mins race for pre ’56
sports cars brought out another large and diverse grid, with Jaguar
C and D-Types, Aston Martin DB2, 3 and 3S models amongst the
field. The Hood / Young Cooper Jaguar T33 took pole position in
qualifying, but it was the 2nd quickest qualifier, the Wakeman /
Blakeney-Edwards Cooper T38 that took the lead from the start,
and steadily pulled out a sizeable lead to its pursuers headed by
the Kurtis 500S of Owen / Knil-Jones. As the race went through
the mandatory pit stop/driver change phase, the Cooper Jaguar
maintained the lead, whilst the Jaguar D-Type of the Pearson
brothers, now driven by Gary was on a charge, lapping
considerably faster than the cars ahead of him. He eventually
hauled in the 2nd place Kurtis, to take the position, but the clock
beat him and he ran out of time to hunt down the winning car of
Wakeman / Blakeney-Edwards.
Probably one of the closest duels of the weekend was in the early
stages of the 50mins RAC Tourist Trophy for Historic Cars (Pre
‘63 GT) with a great battle for the lead between James
Cottingham in a Jaguar E-Type and Jackie Oliver / Gary Pearson
in a Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta.The Ferrari had qualified on
pole, and the Jaguar in 4th spot, but after the first couple of laps it
was clear that these were the two cars in contention for victory.
The Ferrari led from pole, but the Jaguar was all over it like a rash,
and a small error from the Ferrari driven by Jackie Oliver allowed
the jaguar to take the lead, but the Ferrari was soon snapping at
its heels, and with a little bit of “argy bargy” forced its way back to
the front. The victory was sealed for the Ferrari after being taken
over by Gary Pearson, when James Cottingham had a moment on
someone else’s oil, and indulged in a swift trip through a gravel
trap. This battle had been so intense that one barely realised that
the battle for the final podium spot was almost as intense, with a
great duel between the Jaguar E-Type of Jon Minshaw and the AC
Cobra of Martin Hunt / Patrick Blakeney-Edwards being won by
the latter on the final lap.
Race Results - Saturday
Race 1 - Peter Arundell Trophy for Historic Formula Junior.
1st # 53, Sam Wilson -Lotus 22/20
2nd # 163, Jonathan Melicevic -Cooper T59
3rd # 51, Michael Hibberd - Lotus 27
Race 2 - Brian Henton Trophy for Classic Formula 3.
1st # 56, Nick Padmore- March 783
2nd # 71, Martin Stretton - Martini MK39
3rd # 3, David Shaw - March 803B
Race 3 - Sir John Whitmore Trophy for Under 2 Litre Touring Cars.
1st # 63,Richard Meaden/Grant Tromans - Ford Lotus Cortina
2nd # 52,Neil Brown/Richard Dutton - Ford Lotus Cortina
3rd # 89, Andrew Banks/Max Banks - Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint
GTA
Race 4 - Sir Stirling Moss Trophy for Pre ’61 Sports Cars.
1st # 33, Jon Minshaw/Phil Keen - Lister Jaguar Knobbly
2nd # 60, Chris Ward - Lister Jaguar Costin
3rd # 46, Nick Leventis/Bobby Verdon-Roe - Ferrari Dino 246S
Race 5 - FIA Masters Historic Formula One.
1st # 55, Ollie Hancock - Fittipaldi F5A
2nd # 44, Martin Stretton - Tyrell 012
3rd # 37, Christophe D’Ansembourg - Williams FW07/C
Race 6 - Jet Super Touring Car Trophy.
1st # 3, James Dodd - Honda Accord
2nd # 1, Stewart Whyte - Honda Accord
3rd # 98, John Cleland - Vauxhall Vectra
Race 7 - Chopard International Trophy for Pre ’66 GT Cars.
1st # 64, Sean McInerney - TVR Griffith
2nd # 14, Nathan Kinch/Laurence Kinch - Jaguar E-Type
3rd # 47, Chris Scragg/Matt Nicoll-Jones - Jaguar E-Type
Race 8 - Jack Brabham Memorial Trophy Race for HGPCA Pre
’66 GP Cars.
1st # 17, Jason Minshaw - Brabham BT4
2nd # 11, Jon Fairley - Brabham BT11
3rd # 22, Peter Horsman - Lotus 18/21
Race 9 - Mustang Celebration Trophy Proudly Presented By Pure
Michigan.
1st # 1, Leo Voyazides - Ford Falcon
2nd # 37, Mike Gardiner - Ford Falcon
3rd # 147, Tom Roche - Ford Mustang
Race 10 - Maserati Centenary Trophy for HGPCA Pre ‘61 Grand
Prix Cars.
1st # 1, Philip Walker - Lotus 16
2nd # 30, Julian Bronson - Scarab Offenhauser
3rd # 27, Tony Wood - TecMec Maserati
Race 11 - FIA Masters Historic Sports Cars.
1st # 1, Leo Voyazides/Simon Hadfield - Lola T70 MK3B
2nd # 3, Jason Wright/Andy Wolfe - Lola T70 MK3B
3rd # 142, Chris Harris/Richard Meaden - Lola T70 MK3B
Race 12 - Group C Endurance.
1st # 31, Bob Berridge - Mercedes C11
2nd # 25, Katsu Kubota - Nissan R90CK
3rd # 111, Mike Donovan - Spice SE88
Race Results – Sunday
Race 13 - Brian Henton Trophy for Classic Formula 3
1st # 56, Nick Padmore - March 783
2nd # 71, Martin Stretton - Martini MK39
3rd # 3, David Shaw - March 803B
Race 14 - Royal Automobile Club Woodcote Trophy for Pre ’56
Sports Cars
1st # 11, Frederic Wakeman/Patrick Blakeney-Edwards - Cooper
T38
2nd # 7, John Pearson/Gary Pearson - Jaguar D-type
3rd # 115, Geraint Owen/Charles Knill-Jones - Kurtis 500S
Race 15 - Peter Arundell Trophy for Historic Formula Junior
1st # 53, Sam Wilson - Lotus 22/20
2nd # 163, Jonathan Milicevic - Cooper T59
3rd # 70, David Methley - Brabham BT6
Race 16 - RAC Tourist Trophy for Historic Cars (Pre ‘63 GT)
1st # 60, Jackie Oliver/Gary Pearson - Ferrari 250 GT SWB
Berlinetta
2nd # 73, James Cottingham - Jaguar E-Type
3rd # 65, Martin Hunt/Patrick Blakeney-Edwards - AC Cobra
Race 17 - FIA Masters Historic Formula One
1st # 44, Martin Stretton - Tyrrell 012
2nd # 31, Steve Hartley - Arrows A4
3rd # 37, Christophe D’Ansembourg - Williams FW07/C
Race 18 - Group C Endurance
1st # 31, Bob Berridge - Mercedes C11
2nd # 4, Justin Law - Jaguar XJR8
3rd # 27, Steve Tandy - Nissan R90
Race 19 - Jet Super Touring Car Trophy
1st # 68, Rob Huff - Ford Mondeo
2nd # 3, James Dodd - Honda Accord
3rd # 1, Stewart Whyte - Honda Accord
Race 20 - Jack Brabham Memorial Trophy for Pre ’66 Grand Prix
Cars
1st # 17, Jason Minshaw - Brabham BT4
2nd # 11, Jon Fairley - Brabham BT11
3rd # 29, Miles Griffiths - Cooper T51
Race 21 - Maserati Centenary Trophy for HGPCA Pre ’61 Grand
Prix Cars
1st # 1, Philip Walker - Lotus 16
2nd # 30, Julian Bronson - Scarab Offenhauser
3rd # 27, Tony Wood - Maserati TecMec
Race 22 - Mustang Celebration Trophy Proudly Presented by
Pure Michigan
1st # 1, Leo Voyazides - Ford Falcon
2nd # 37, Mike Gardiner - Ford Falcon
3rd # 147, Tom Roche - Ford Mustang
Ferrari Participation
Race 4 – Stirling Moss Trophy for Pre ’61 Sports & Sports Racing
Cars Race # Model Colour Chassis # Drivers
46 Dino 246 S Red 0784 N. Leventis/ B. Verdon-Roe
Race 10 & Race 21 – Maserati Centenary Trophy for HGPCA Pre
’61 GP Cars
3 Dino 246 F1 Red 0788 T. Smith
Race 8 - FIA Masters Historic Sports Cars
18 Ferrari 512 M Red 1038 P. Knapfield/ J. Campbell-Walter
70 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Comp’ Conv’ Blue-Yellow 13219 T.
Summers
Race 14 – RAC Woodcote Trophy for Pre’56 Sports Cars
28 Ferrari 500 TRC Yellow-Black 0682MDTR D. Cottingham
Race 17 – RAC Tourist Trophy for Historic Cars (Pre ’63 GT)
60 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berl’ Yellow 1953GT J. Oliver/ G.
Pearson
Grand Prix Car Parade
44 Ferrari 500/625 F2/F1 Red 0482 A. Boswell
3 Dino 246 F1 Red 0788 T. Smith
‘90s GT Legends Demonstration Runs
10 Ferrari F40 LM Comp’ Conv’ Red 80856 J. Sebastiani
10 Ferrari 575 GTC Red 2210 N. Smith
Keith Bluemel
08/2014
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