Preamble

FISCAR has been a fixture at the Castle Combe Autumn Classic since its inaugural event on October 6th 2012. However we nearly didn’t get there this year. As a result of what I can only assume was a miscommunication, and may well be my fault, I put the date up on the website but it later transpired that the event organisers had no knowledge of this. Fortunately, some eagle eyed individual at Castle Combe questioned our absence on their programme, checked our website and then telephoned me. After some toing and froing which heavily involved Richard Culverhouse, the Circuit kindly agreed that they would juggle the programme around and fit us in, so we were at least ‘in’.

There were difficulties after that however, as various incarnations of the programme always put our race on last on Saturday. Since our race was scheduled to start at 5.40pm and the circuit curfew was at 6.30, any delay caused by stoppages/clear ups from previous races was inevitably going to eat into that time, and we could finish up with a shortened race. Richard Culverhouse made various representations to the organisers suggesting alternatives but to no avail. In the event, the meeting was running late but persistence by Richard got us a guarantee of 30 minutes. Grateful thanks to Richard for staying on the case and ensuring a positive outcome.   

The Paddock is always busy at this meeting but it was totally rammed on Saturday morning and it was wet as well but the rain was easing by the time I got there. Richard Tyzack had arrived earlier, took one look and decided to take the Kellison home, understandable given that he is trying to sell the car and not wishing to put it to unnecessary risk on a slippery track. Richard Culverhouse (yes, he does a lot for us!) had arrived the day before and erected our marquee but so bad was the weather overnight, that the weight of water and wind had collapsed it so it had to be re-erected the following morning. Quite a few of our members managed to grab spaces adjacent to the marquee but the rest were spread throughout the paddock.

It is a very positive sign for FISCAR that newcomers continue to join us. We’ve had quite a few this year and at Castle Combe, Mike Henney entered the well known ‘Tatty Turner’, a car with quite a history in British club racing. Mike had recently acquired it from North America and I believe ours was its first race since returning to these shores. Another first timer with FISCAR was John Harrison who brought his very smart Austin Healey 100/4 up from Cornwall.

The Daniells ex works MGA Twin Cams are not new to us but the driver of one of them (1MTW) was, young, and I do mean young at 17, George Daniell.  The name Fender is not new to us either but Neil entered his very original yellow TR2 and put his 24 year old son, Angus in the car, neither car nor driver having run with us before.  Angus was exceedingly quick but I was hoping that some of his qualifying pace was down to the Avons (for this race only, as a late entry) which was why the car was in the Invitation class. The return of Steve Wright and Ian Clark in the Porsche 356A Super, after a number of years absence, was a real bonus, particularly since that is such a rare shape to our grids. It was not to be an entirely happy return for them though, as we shall see.

Now, I note that the lovely little pale blue Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint, owned by Richard Frankel, has been out 3 times with us this year but with a different member of the family each time. Richard drove it at Spring Start, George at BDC and here, Louis, another youngster, drove, so he too was another newcomer. I will mention all other cars and drivers in the qualifying section.

I should also add that, as is becoming usual, we had a number of welcome visitors to our hospitality marquee, not least of which was Alan House, who I think has joined us at every race this year, and Simon Jefferies, accompanied by his wife, Helen, giving the Aston a well deserved rest after its efforts at the Goodwood Revival. Pleasingly, I also became reacquainted with Roger Daniell who owns the pair of ex works MGA Twin Cams entered for son, Mark and grandson George. Roger told me that he hung up his helmet a few years ago.    

Qualifying

FISCAR qualifying was to be the last session before racing started. The rain had stopped by then but the track, whilst beginning to dry out, was still pretty damp and slippery in places, as our cars headed out on the circuit.

I expected a close battle for pole between David Alexander in the Lotus Elite and Marc Gordon in the Jaguar XK150. Had the Kellison been there, I suspect Nick Taylor might have figured as well although the track conditions at the time probably suited handling over power. In the event, David put the Lotus on pole in a 1.25.062, fully 2.4 seconds ahead of Marc. The young and very rapid Angus Fender qualified 3rd in the TR2 in a time of 1.27.840 but I would like to think that some of that time was down to the Avon tyres which the car will not have if Dad, Neil, decides to enter him in the car with us next season. Brian Arculus qualified 4th in 1.28.283 in his Lotus Elite and the 3rd row was occupied by Mark Daniell in the quickest of the MGA Twin Cams in a very competitive time of 1.28.560 with Adrian King alongside on a 1.28.740 in David Cottingham’s AC Ace. I was surprised, but probably shouldn’t have been, that Mike Henney qualified an excellent 7th in his Turner Climax on a 1.28.837 with David Reed 8th in his DB2, the only Aston in the race, on a time of 1.30.745. The top 10 were completed by Neil Burnside’s MGA Twin Cam on 1.31.214 and Louis Frankel on a superb 1.31.253 in the Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint, the quickest Class 4 qualifier.   

Mark Hoble qualified 11th in his Morgan +4 on 1.31.356, the presence of a couple of MGA Twin Cams ahead, demoting him, on this occasion to 3rd in class, but he was still frontrunner for the annual Class 3 award. Geoff Turrall, sharing with Toddy Worthington put the TR3A/B alongside the Morgan in  1.31.709. Row 7 was an all red affair with Chris Mann’s Alfa Romeo 6C Disco Volante on 1.31.792 and Geoff Ottley’s Jaguar XK120 on 1.31.907. Gareth Evans qualified 15th in the sustainable fuelled Sunbeam Alpine on 1.32.619 with Steve Wright sharing row 8 in the Porsche 356A Super on a 1.33.514. As an aside, the class structure introduced  some years ago but after the last time we had this or indeed any Porsche on the grid, placed them in Class 2 but I was persuaded that actually they should be in Class 3, and this would seem to be supported by the car’s qualifying time. It remains to be seen whether I will regret that and/or reverse the decision if we, as hoped, see more of that Porsche (and others?) next season.

Tristan Bradfield, for once not the quickest Sunbeam Alpine posted a 1.33.878, was anxious to address that situation in the race, shared row 9 with the big Austin A105/6 - ‘Agatha’, in its last race with FISCAR for the foreseeable future was on a 1.34.054 in the hands of owner Andrew Davenall. The top 20 was rounded out by a pair of MGAs – the very young George Daniell in a Twin Cam version, on 1.35.109 and Peter Bower in his single cam roadster on 1.35.529.

Michael Scott qualified his splendid Frazer Nash Le Mans Replica (we could do with a couple more of these!) 21st on 1.36.081, and John Harrison was alongside in his Austin Healey 100/4 in a time of 1.36.258. Ian Beattie was 23rd on a 1.36.550 in his XK120 sharing row 12 with Andy Cox in the Triumph TR3 Falcon, on 1.37.190. On row 13, Andrew Mitchell had his Lotus Elite on 1.37.703 and Mike Lamplough, his MG ZA Magnette, ‘Bumble’ on 1.39.590. Mike Berry was 27th on a 1.40.710 in his Austin Healey 100M, sharing with Jeremy Wood’s Triumph Italia 2000 on 1.40.806. On the penultimate row, Mark Shears was 29th with a time of 1.41.984 in his Flat Rad Morgan +4 with Nicola Burnside’s MGA Twin Cam alongside on a 1.43.744. On their own at the back was the other Flat Rad Morgan of Leigh Sebba and Peter Cole with a time of 1.46.719.

The cars were, on average, 2–4 seconds slower per lap than they were to be in the race, and I would guess that this was as a result of drivers acquainting themselves with the circuit in slightly damp conditions, so they were actually not that far off their subsequent race pace. There was a late substitution of drivers for one of the MGA Twin Cams. Neil Burnside reported that his wife, Nicola, was feeling very unwell and could he substitute ……. erm, Nick Finburgh? Now, some of us know Nick; he is quite a well-known and quick driver of historic cars. Strictly speaking, we should have gone around and obtained agreement from all the other drivers to this change but that is actually a pretty impractical process when the cars are scattered throughout the paddock and many of the drivers are not with their cars for much of the time, anyway. It was a long way to pay an entry fee to bring a car and have it sitting in perfectly good raceworthy condition in the paddock, unraced! In my head I could hear the collective agreement of our very good natured FISCAR drivers and your committee agreed to the request! Nick was to start from the back although that was pretty much where the car had qualified anyway and we knew, of course, that he would make good progress in the race.

Much later in the day still, we were asked at short notice by Simon Aldridge if he could race his Jaguar Mk1 saloon with us, as unfortunately, for reasons I cannot recall, he had missed the Ecurie Jaguar race. It was very short notice and sadly, we had to politely decline, particularly as it was felt that this was a bridge too far!

Race

As advised earlier, ours was the last race of the day. The sun was out, but low in the sky, and the track was well rubbered in and dry, as our 31 cars headed onto the track from the paddock. However, with 16 rows, the last few rows extended beyond the normal exit and a number of our cars were directed out onto the track via the pit entry lane and required to make a U-turn! Once lined up the cars followed the course car around, until it pulled off short of Camp and our cars reformed on the grid. What a fantastic sight!                  

As the lights went out, poleman, David Alexander in his Lotus Elite edged slightly ahead but only for a moment as the greater power of the XK150 took full effect and Marc Gordon surged to the front heading into Folly. On the other hand, Angus Fender, 3rd on the grid bogged down, the yellow TR2’s tired clutch grumbling at the strains of a stationary start!  As a result, Brian Arculus in the Lotus Elite quickly eased ahead, and both Mark Daniell in the MGA Twin Cam and Adrian King, both making good starts, outflanked Angus. There were some great starts behind, too, by Geoff Turrall in his TR3A/B, Andrew Davenall in the A105 and Geoff Ottley in his XK120. The best start of all came from Steve Wright in the Porsche 356A who took several places by storming through on the outside. He later probably wished he hadn’t. Tristan Bradfield charged his Sunbeam Alpine up alongside fellow Alpine pilot, Gareth Evans, to signal his intention to engage in battle, his dark green steed contrasting with Gareth’s paler green version.  Further back, both Michael Scott in the Frazer Nash and Ian Beattie in his XK120 had to jink around a slow starting George Daniell in the ex works Twin Cam MGA. Nick Finburgh starting right at the back did not stay there for long.

The field of cars charged up through Folly and Avon Rise heading into Quarry and disappeared from my view at Camp and here the circuit fell silent of machinery for a while with only the sound of the commentators keeping us informed of progress. Through Quarry unscathed, they streamed down to the Esses, successfully negotiated, and headed through Old Paddock gaining heady speed through Hammmerdown before preparing to brake hard for the challenging Tower bend and then finally reappeared in the distance as they headed through Bobbies, accelerating hard through Westway into Dean Straight and then sweeping spectacularly through Camp to complete lap 1. Marc Gordon determined to make David Alexander work hard, led the Lotus by just over 7 tenths with Brian Arculus in the second Elite, less than 2 seconds behind but already clear of Mark Daniell’s ex Works MGA Twin Cam. Less than a second behind Mark came Geoff Turrall’s TR followed closely by Adrian King in the AC  Ace and the ‘Yellow Peril’ TR2 of Angus Fender, driving to minimise the impact of his poor start but with due regard to the state of his clutch. 2.7 seconds later, Steve Wright crossed the line in 8th place, having started 16th!

The positions of many of the cars at the end of the first lap did not reflect their starting positions, although Neil Burnside, 9th in his MGA Twin Cam was one of the few in the place where he started! Mike Henney in ‘Tatty Turner’ had dropped to 10th, having started 7th, but Geoff Ottley, on the other hand, was up to 11th from 14th. Behind Geoff, Louis Frankel, after initially making a good start in the lovely little Alfa found himself in 12th, and David Reed in his DB2 was 13th, having started 8th.  Mark Hoble had lost ground too, his Morgan +4 down to 14th, and Chris Mann having also initially made a good start from 13th but had taken to the grass and wisely backed off a bit to come through in 15th in the Disco Volante.  Gareth Evans was in 16th with fellow Sunbeam Alpine driver, Tristan Bradfield barely to be seen, since Andy Cox was hard on Gareth’s tail in the TR3 Falcon with Peter Bower also pressing hard in the MGA Roadster. Andrew Davenall’s start couldn’t be maintained and the Austin A105/6 was now 19th, about a second clear of Michael Scott in the Frazer Nash LMR.       

Behind Michael came a steady stream of lovely cars, led by Nick Finburgh in the Nicola Burnside MGA Twin Cam, already up to 21st from last on the grid, but no real surprise there! Behind Nick came Tristan Bradfield who had dropped several places after what appeared to be a good start in his Sunbeam Alpine and was, at this stage, no longer in a position to challenge Gareth Evans. Andrew Mitchell was 23rd in his Lotus Elite, and George Daniell, intent on making up ground lost off the startline, and also MGA Twin Cam mounted, was next up 1.7 seconds behind Andrew, who had Ian Beattie’s Jaguar XK120 in close attendance. John Harrison, one of our novice drivers was getting to grips with both car and track, in his Austin Healey 100/4 was giving chase whilst Mike Lamplough’s MG Magnette ‘Bumble’ was 27th holding off the Austin Healey 100M of Mike Berry. Jeremy Woods in the rare Triumph Italia 2000 was hanging onto Mike. The brace of splendid Morgan +4 Flat Rads of Mark Shears and Leigh Sebba had already dropped away a little, but for the enthusiast, all these cars at the back of the grid held just as much interest and fascination as those further up the field.   

Marc Gordon thundered on around the circuit for the second time, but upon crossing the line at the end of the lap, David Alexander had closed the gap to 3 tenths and Brian Arculus was closer too, just under 1.3 seconds covering the Jaguar and Lotus pair. They were pulling away from the chasing group but Angus Fender had taken the TR2 passed Mark Daniell’s MGA Twin Cam, Geoff Turrall’s TR3A/B and Adrian King in the AC Ace, to take 4th, but was now over 4.5 seconds behind the leading trio. The Porsche 356A of Steve Wright was nowhere to be seen but Geoff Ottley was observed heading to the pitlane displaying damage to the offside front bumper and wing which provided a possible clue. It seems that heading into Tower for the second time, Geoff was tapped from behind destabilising the Jaguar under braking and unfortunately clipping the Porsche into a spin and unable to avoid it, hit it a second time. The ‘culprit’ has not been identified but there is clear damage to the rear of the Jaguar. Sadly for the returning Porsche, it’s race ended there and then, whilst Geoff returned to the race, he lost over a lap which he was never to recover.

All this now meant that Neil Burnside was up to 8th in his MGA Twin Cam but over 4 seconds behind Adrian King. The next two places were filled by Mike Henney’s Turner Climax and Louis Frankel  in Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint.          

Mark Hoble had his Class 3 Morgan up to 11th and beginning to close on the Frankel Alfa, whilst David Reed was just behind Mark but dropping away a little, not seemingly able to match his qualifying pace. He was however, well clear of Chris Mann’s Alfa Disco Volante which had done a slow lap and now had Andy Cox in the TR3 Falcon closing in. Andy was having to watch his mirrors though, as Nick Finburgh, going very rapidly in the MGA Twin Cam, was now up to 15th and about to make a pass on the TR, having just dispensed with the Sunbeam Alpine of Gareth Evans. Next up was Peter Bower in his MGA , and with Geoff Ottley in the pits, both Andrew Davenall (A105/6) and Michael Scott’s Frazer Nash were about to move up a place. It was now pretty clear from the lap times referred to above, that the incident at Tower had caused many of the following competitors to slow, so they did not represent the true pace of the cars.

Tristan Bradfield was 21st in the Sunbeam Alpine Le Mans and being several places and 5 seconds behind the sister car of Gareth Evans, was probably a tad frustrated, but that gap signified the closeness of the racing at this stage as that 5 seconds covered 7 cars, 6 on track with the XK 120 in the pits. Not far behind, and in a great battle, Andrew Mitchell and George Daniell, Lotus Elite and MGA Twin Cam respectively, held down 22nd and 23rd. Just under 3 seconds back, Ian Beattie (XK120), John Harrison (Austin Healey 100/4) and Michael Berry (Austin Healey 100M) were circulating closely together, and pulling away from Mike Lamplough’s MG Magnette and the Triumph Italia of Jeremy Woods whilst the pair of majestic Flat Rad Morgans continued to prop up the field.

Marc Gordon continued to lead as he completed lap 3 but David Alexander was now on his tail with Brian Arculus in the sister Elite still in close attendance. Angus Fender in the TR2 was not  quite  matching  the time of the leading trio and was now 5 seconds adrift but was pulling clear of the chasing group of 3 – Mark Daniell (MGA Twin Cam), Adrian King, having taken 6th in the AC Ace from Geoff Turrall (TR3A/B). Now almost 9 seconds behind came Neil Burnside’s MGA Twin Cam with positions behind unaltered until we come to 14th now occupied by Nick Finburgh’s Twin Cam having completed his pass on Andy Cox.  There were no further changes of position down the field and Geoff Ottley was still in the pits although about to return to the track following inspection of the damage.

During the course of Lap 4, David Alexander made his move, and if I understood the commentary correctly, it involved 3 corners, as David ran the Elite out wide into Tower to round Marc’s XK150 and staying there through the first part of Bobbies but giving himself the inside line in the second part and emerged in the lead. This was David’s quickest lap of the race so far and he crossed the line at the end of lap 4 with almost a one second lead over the Jaguar and Brian Arculus another 8 tenths behind in the second Elite. Angus Fender, in 4th had lost the best part of another second to the leaders and Adrian King was still gradually homing in on the TR2, the AC Ace’s Bristol engine singing with intent. Geoff Turrall was gradually dropping away in the TR3A/B but in a very secure 7th place as the gap to Neil Burnside’s MGA Twin Cam was now up to almost 15 seconds. Neil and all those behind him, with the exception of David Reed’s Aston, were lapping over 1.30, whereas the front 7 were all lapping under 1.28, so the gap was only going one way. Louis Frankel was still going very well in the little Alfa in 8th and he was at the head of a 4 car group, the others being, in order, Mike Henney (Turner Climax), Mark Hoble (Morgan +4) and David Reed, now into his stride in the Aston.        

Seven seconds passed  behind  the Aston, before 4 cars came through covered by less than 2 seconds – Nick Finburgh, working his way rapidly forward in the MGA Twin Cam, Christopher Mann in the Alfa Romeo Disco Volante, Andy Cox in the TR3 Falcon and Gareth Evans, 16th in his Sunbeam Alpine. A further 7 seconds behind them came Andrew Davenall, muscling the big Austin A105/6 round, just clear of another group of cars – Peter Bower’s MGA, Tristan Bradfield (Sunbeam Alpine LM), Michael Scott (Frazer Nash LMR), Andrew Mitchell (Lotus Elite) and George Daniell in the second ex works MGA Twin Cam in 22nd. Ian Beattie was next up in his XK120 just clear of the brace of battling Austin Healeys of John Harrison and Michael Berry, both learning their craft. In 26th, Jeremy Woods pressed on, delighted in his surroundings in the Triumph Italia 2000, but behind, Mike Lamplough brought ‘Bumble’, the MG Magnette, in to retire. He had clipped the markers in the chicane and shortly after, heard a clatter; the rear anti-roll bar mount had broken away and was dragging on the ground. Mark Shears was next up and, finally Geoff Ottley reappeared on the lap charts, a lap down, in his XK120.

David Alexander put in a 1.24.903 on lap 5 which pulled him clear of Marc Gordon’s XK150 which did a 1.27.045, although Marc was to go quicker later on. Brian Arculus, having held onto the leading pair, dived into the pits for his mandatory pit stop, whilst Angus Fender came through 2.4 seconds ahead of Adrian King in the electric blue AC Ace. All 5 had lapped Leigh Sebba, who had dropped away from the sister car of Mark Shears, in the Flat Rad Morgan +4. Mark Daniell was charging on in the leading MGA Twin Cam in 6th but was keeping a wary eye on Geoff Turrall’s TR which was just over a second behind. It had not been one of Geoff’s better laps,  a good 1.5 seconds shy of his best during the race, but he had nothing to worry about from behind as Louis Frankel was no less than 17 seconds behind in the Alfa, but keeping ahead of Neil Burnside’s MGA Twin Cam, Mark Hoble’s Morgan +4  and Mike Henney who was pressing the Morgan, in his Turner Climax, lying 11th.      

Up to 12th and now in clear air, Nick Finburgh had taken the Burnside MGA Twin Cam round in 1.28.961 and it was inevitable that he would make further progress up the field but he was 5.5 seconds behind the Tatty Turner, and it would take a few laps to get on terms. David Reed took to the pits for his mandatory stop, the second driver to do so, in the DB2 whilst 14th was Christopher Mann in the Disco Volante just over a second clear of Andy Cox in the TR3 Falcon, which still had the Sunbeam Alpine of Gareth Evans in tow. Andrew Davenall continued to circulate in relative isolation, 6 seconds down on Gareth but edging ever so slightly away from Tristan Bradfield’s Sunbeam Alpine which was over 2 seconds behind the big Austin. I’m sure that Tristan was still hoping to get on terms with Gareth in the sister car and although he was now only 2 positions behind, the gap between the two Alpines was 9 seconds.

Michael Scott’s Frazer Nash LMR was lying 19th, holding off both Andrew Mitchell’s Lotus Elite and George Daniell’s MGA Twin Cam. Ian Beattie was holding station 3.5 seconds behind George in the XK120 and pretty much matching their pace. Michael Berry was 23rd whilst his fellow Austin Healey 100 racer, John Harrison headed to the pits, making him the 3rd driver to do so at the end of lap 5. 25th and last of the unlapped runners, Jeremy Woods pressed on in the Triumph Italia.

Although Marc Gordon increased his pace in the XK150, David Alexander, having just lapped the pit bound Morgan Flat Rad of Mark Shears, completed lap 6 with a 4 second lead. Geoff Ottley had gone two laps down to the leading pair and Angus Fender was 8 seconds back, 3rd in the TR2, 2.4 seconds clear of Adrian King, who was nevertheless matching his times. Mark Daniell and Geoff Turrall in MGA Twin Cam and TR, respectively had both Angus and Adrian well in sight but just couldn’t quite match their pace.

The top 6 were separated by 17.5 seconds, but the rest of the field, still led by Louis Frankel, driving his socks off in the little Alfa was 20 seconds back so, at this point, we effectively had two races. The  gap would eventually be bridged by both Brian Arculus in the Elite, currently 23rd following his pit stop and the still charging Nick Finburgh, as well as the impact of the cars ahead pitting, but for the moment the top 6 were well detached ahead of the field. The next few positions were unchanged but the lapped Leigh Sebba took to the pits in his Flat Rad Morgan, as did Andy Cox in the TR3 Falcon. We were now entering that long phase of pitting (the window is 20 minutes!) where everything is not quite as it seems with cars both out of position and affected by the length of their stops.      

At the end of lap 7, the David Alexander pitted the Lotus, but Marc Gordon pressed on, the XK150 now leading again with some 7 seconds in hand over the Angus Fender TR.  Adrian King in the Ace had just done an excellent  1.26.64 lap – it was to be his best of the race – and he was now within 2 seconds of Angus, the race between the two now very much on. Geoff Turrall was over 4.5 seconds behind Adrian, his TR mirrors full of Mark Daniell’s MGA Twin Cam. They completed the lap 2 tenths apart! Almost 25 seconds back, Louis Frankel was leading a train of 5 cars covered by just over 3 seconds, the Alfa keeping at bay Neil Burnside (MGA Twin Cam), Mark Hoble (Morgan +4), Nick Finburgh (MGA Twin Cam) and Mike Henney in Tatty Turner, the most recent to succumb to the Finburgh charge. George Daniell’s MGA Twin Cam had passed Michael Scott’s Frazer Nash LMR for 16th and a little further back, Brian Arculus was working his way back up the field. Ian Beattie headed to the pit, which was surprisingly quiet considering that we were now well into the window, his XK120 having it all to itself!

Marc Gordon charged on in the lead for the next couple of laps, only heading his XK150 to the pits at the end of lap 9. Both Louis Frankel  and Andrew Davenall had pitted on lap 8. Behind Marc, the gap between Angus Fender and Adrian King fluctuated, Adrian losing ground on lap 8 but recovering it on lap 9 when it was back down to 2 seconds.  The battle for 4th was closer still, as Geoff Turrall and Mark Daniel crossed the line for the 9th time almost together just over one tenth apart, the Twin Cam aongside the TR. Nick Finburgh was up to 6th albeit almost half a minute behind the dicing duo, having just passed Neil Burnside. We therefore had MGA Twin Cams in 5th, 6th and 7th, a great showing for the marque.  Mark Hoble was doing his best to hang on in his Morgan +4 but his immediate pursuer, Mike Henney was now in the pits with the Turner and was shortly to be joined by Christopher Mann’s Alfa Disco Volante. As the pit stops took effect, a number of cars were 1 or 2 laps down. Peter Bower and Andrew Mitchell had been circulating together and both headed to the pits at the same time ……. and both retired before completing another lap! Peter did manage to get his MGA back out on track but pulled up beyond Quarry with a repeat of a problem experienced in qualifying - loosening carburettor studs and nuts. Mark Daniel had helped Peter get the car out for the race but it appears that there is a ‘significant harmonics problem’ which needs to be resolved for next season. Andrew on the other hand was black flagged for an oil leak, so had to retire the Lotus.  

Now that the top 3 had all pitted, Angus Fender inherited the lead but it was shortlived, as he slowed the TR2, worried about the failing clutch and he was passed by Adrian King in the AC Ace and at the end of lap 10 both cars headed to the pits, Adrian for his mandatory stop and Angus to retire the car. It had been a fine run whilst it lasted. So, now Mark Daniel briefly took the lead in the MGA Twin Cam with Geoff Turrrall on his tail in the TR3A/B. Mark Hoble took to the pits in his Morgan and David Alexander was already back up to speed in 8th place, and Marc Gordon, 9th in the XK150 but 11.5 seconds adrift and seemingly now beaten, although it was not for the want of trying. Just over 7 seconds behind, Brian Arculus was now up to 10th in the Elite, so the erstwhile  leading 3 were heading back up the field rapidly. Three more cars pitted – Gareth Evans (Sunbeam Alpine), George Daniell (MGA Twin Cam) and Michael Scott in the Frazer Nash.

Both Mark Daniel and Geoff Turral pitted on lap 11, Geoff handing over to Toddy Worthington. Next up was Nick Finburgh in the Burnside MGA Twin Cam but his lead was brief too, as he also pitted at the end of Lap 12. Geoff Ottley paid his second visit to the pits, this time to make his mandatory stop. Second but shortly to be back into the lead after the Finburgh stop, was David Alexander and 3rd was Neil Burnside himself, but he too was now in the pits. Marc Gordon and Brian Arculus were now 4th and 5th respectively. Adrian King already back on track was 6th, and 7th but also now pitting was Tristan Bradfield in the Sunbeam Alpine Le Mans. Mark Daniell, back up to speed was 8th, and 9th but another to pit was Michael Berry in his Austin Healey 100M, and he was the last to do so. As the leaders headed into lap 13, with all pit stops taken, the field began to shake out to reflect their true positions. Who had gained and who had lost; they all had to stop for 45 seconds but some took longer and the speed they came into the pits before having to slow, and the acceleration out of the pit lane exit, and whether they were  coming back on in traffic could all have a big impact on their positions.     

Upon the completion of lap 13, David Alexander had a 10.7 second lead over Marc Gordon’s XK150, so Marc had cut into David’s lead, but not significantly so, though he had pulled further clear of Brian Arculus. Brian was unchallenged so barring mishap, the top 3 places seemed set. The demise of the Fender TR2 meant that Adrian King was now firmly established in 4th, leading Class 2 in the AC and not ever likely to be caught by 5th placed Mark Daniel, who nevertheless also appeared to have Class 3 wrapped up.  David Reed had the Aston up to 6th but Nick Finburgh’s MGA Twin Cam was pressing. Neil Burnside was some way behind the pair, a couple of seconds clear of a battling trio consisting of Louis Frankel’s Alfa, Toddy Worthington in the TR and Mike Henney in the Turner Climax, lying 11th and last of the unlapped runners.

David’s lead increased markedly over lap 14, the Lotus suddenly 13.5 seconds ahead of the XK150, and it appears that Marc had been held up by whilst lapping traffic, and Brian Arculus was now within 9 seconds of the Jaguar. The order of the cars on the lead lap remained unchanged, as David Reed was putting up stern resistance in the DB2 from the challenge of the Finburgh Twin Cam, probably the first time in the race that Nick had met with someone able to match, if not better, his lap times. Only 9 cars were now on the lead lap with both Mike Henney and Toddy Worthington having gone down a lap. Geoff Ottley was 2 laps down but no longer last as he had lapped Peter Cole in Leigh Sebba’s Flat Rad Morgan which was now 3 laps down. I do wonder whether there was a bit of a problem with this very smart Morgan because it is not normally so far off the pace of the Shears sister car.  

Although the first 5 were clear as we headed into the last quarter of the race, behind, there were a number of battles still to be resolved. David Reed continued to hold off Nick Finburgh for 6th whilst everybody behind Nick had now been lapped at least once. A lap down in 8th place, Louis Frankel continued gamely to keep Neil Burnside’s MGA Twin Cam and Mike Henney’s Turner Climax at bay, whilst Chris Mann was defending against Mark Hoble’s Morgan. Andrew Cox was similarly engaged in resisting Gareth Evans and all the while this engagement took place, Tristan Bradfield was homing in on the pair. Andrew Davenall’s Austin held a slender advantage over George Daniell’s MGA Twin Cam and further back Michael Scott in the Frazer Nash, had Ian Beattie’s Jaguar XK120 for company, so there was still plenty of action. However, on lap 17, David Reed had to take avoiding action when a backmarker cut across the front of him in a corner and the DB2 sadly suffered impact damage. Being both close to the end of the race and on the circuit curfew limit, it was decided to throw the red flag and the race came to an end after 18 laps were completed by the leaders rather than the projected 20 laps.       

David Alexander took the chequered flag having completed 18 laps in 27 minutes 12.376 seconds in his Lotus Elite. Although he had won the Richard Bell Memorial Trophy at Spring Start, this was his first overall race win with FISCAR this season. Marc Gordon, who never gave up, was unable to get on terms and finished 12.5 seconds behind in the Jaguar XK150. Brian Arculus finished 3rd, a further 13 seconds behind in his Lotus Elite. All three were Class 1 cars, but 4th was Adrian King in another fine drive, winning Class 2. Just as impressive was Mark Daniel finishing in 5th place in his ex works MGA Twin Cam, and he was followed home at some distance by Nick Finburgh in the Nicola Burnside MGA Twin Cam. Nick had driven from the back of the grid, but it was no surprise to see his progress which was only halted when he came across David Reed’s Aston DB2, and it was only David’s unfortunate accident which ensured 6th for Nick. One lap down another excellent drive netted 7th place – Louis Frankel winning Class 4 in the Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint, an unexpected but well- earned result. He had held off Nick Burnside’s MGA Twin Cam and Mike Henney’s ‘Tatty’ Turner Climax for many laps, and just 2 seconds covered all three at the flag. Neil’s 8th place meant an impressive 3 MGA Twin Cams in the top 8! They should race with us more often! Although not as quick as owner Geoff Turral, Toddy Worthington brought the TR3A/B home in a very good 10th.                

Chris Mann finished 11th in the beautifully exotic Alfa Romeo Disco Volante, and I sometimes think that we overlook how special this car is because Chris supports us so often but the commentators, one of which was Marcus Pye, were in no doubt that this was their ‘Star’ car. The absence of Justin Beckett in this race meant that Chris won the annual Class 2 award. Mark Hoble had been a consistent presence in the rear view mirror of the Alfa and finished just a couple of seconds behind, in the Morgan +4. Although he had had to give best to the trio of MGA Twin Cams ahead of him, Mark had done more than enough over the season to take the annual Class 3 award. Andrew Cox held off Gareth Evans by just over 1 second to take the flag in a hard earned 13th in the TR3 Falcon. Tristan Bradfield had almost worked his way up to the pair, finishing just 2.5 seconds behind Gareth, and it was good to see both Sunbeam Alpines working well to cross the line almost line astern. Half a dozen seconds behind Andrew Davenall brought his Austin A105/6 across the line, a couple of seconds ahead of George Daniell in the second of the ex works MGA Twin Cam. George absolutely loved his race and he will get quicker! Michael Berry, getting another signature under his belt, took 18th in his Austin Healey 100M, and Michael Scott in the splendid Frazer Nash Le Mans Replica followed Michael across the line less than 2 seconds behind and just ahead of Ian Beattie’s Jaguar XK120, the last car to complete 17 laps.  

On 16 laps, John Harrison brought his Austin Healey 100/4 safely home in 21st place to earn a first signature on his racing  licence. Jeremy Woods came in 22nd in the very rare and very road going Triumph Italia 2000 followed by Mark Shears in the Flat Rad Morgan +4, the out of position Geoff Ottley in the Jaguar XK120 and finally, the second Flat Rad Morgan +4 of Leigh Sebba and Peter Cole, 25th.

It was gratifying to see how many members stayed on for the awards presentation, given how late on in the day it was. On the day IoP and Class results will appear in the tables below but in the Annual Awards, the Whitehead Cup was retained by Andy Cox in the Triumph TR3 Falcon and the Team Inter- Marque Trophy went to the Morgan team. The Annual Class winners were David Alexander (Class 1 - Lotus Elite), Chris Mann (Class 2 – Alfa Romeo Disco Volante), Mark Hoble (Class 3 – Morgan +4) and Mark Shears (Class 4 – Morgan +4 Flat Rad).  Congratulations to all these members and those who won awards on the day.  

Many thanks to Andrew Davenall has provided a lot of in car footage; well worth a browse:-

Castle Combe in-car front view, up to pit stop:

https://youtu.be/if_UxnehXzA 

after pit stop:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewk85sINUOk 

Rear cam view, full race, pit stop trimmed out:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCIEkWZQL_c

Gallery

Qualifying - all following photos by JT until otherwise advised.

All the following photos by Jeff Bloxham until otherwise stated

Pit and Paddock Photos - all by Pat Arculus, Tripos Media

Racing - all following shots by JT until otherwise stated

Race - All following photos by Jeff Bloxham

Tailpiece