FISCAR Inter-Marque

HSCC, Legends of Brands Hatch Superprix, 12 July, 2026

Preamble

The opportunity to race on the Brands Hatch GP circuit doesn’t come around too often so it was a very pleasant surprise when Mark Campbell was able to arrange for us to buy a grid at the HSCC, Superprix event. It was particularly pleasing that it was this year, as the circuit is celebrating its 60th Anniversay and the 100th anniversary of ‘Century of Power’.

The GP circuit is one of the best in the country and amateur drivers tend to embrace the opportunity to race there. Certainly, it attracted the attention of Brian Arculus who had not intended to race with us this year, and I felt certain that a grid in the region of 35 cars was entirely possible. Now, I accept that racing old cars is a hobby and, understandably, probably way down the list of priorities in life, but I cannot pretend that I wasn’t a little disappointed by the entry of 24 cars. This was no more than at Donington and several less than our Silverstone Spring Start entry level. However, I should add that some of the other races on the programme were also not as well supported as expected, and there does appear to be a bit of a downward turn in historic race entry numbers at the moment.

Our race entry was nevertheless a lovely and eclectic mix, but unfortunately, we had 4 late withdrawals reducing the field to just 20 cars. Both the Mark Brett Delage D6 and the Morgan Cleasby Lotus Elite were still deemed unfit to race;  Benn Faulkner had last minute business to attend to, so we were not to see the extraordinary Bristol 450 and sadly, Jeremy Woods had medical issues so was unable to bring the Triumph Italia along. A new car to our ranks was the lovely little MG Lester of George Edney returning to the tracks after a few years absence.

Qualifying

Well, we knew that David Alexander was fast but putting his Lotus Elite on pole by the best part of 7 seconds was pretty staggering. His time was 1.53.903, and Brian Arculus, no slouch himself, and also Elite mounted, was the next best on 2.00.897. Tania Pilkington was 3rd in a time of 2.01.276 in the gorgeous Maserati 300S, the only one to prevent a Lotus top 5 lockout of the grid, as Andrew Mitchell in the Donington winning Elite was 4th in a time of 2.02.624, Barry Dye 5th in his Elite on 2.03.027, and 6th in his diminutive Lotus 7, Nigel Winchester just a smidgeon behind on 2.03.049. This was a most curious looking front of the grid, even by FISCAR standards, as next up were a pair of Alfas, - Louis Frankel’s Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint (2.03.057) and Chris Mann’s Disco Volante (2.03.639) followed by a pair of Morgans – Johnny Shears in the +4 Flat Rad (2.04.384) and Mark Hoble in the later type +4 on 2.04.464. As I said, a curious grouping but some incredibly close timings which suggested some great racing was to come.

Simon Evans was on row 6 with a time of 2.04.79 in his Allard J2X Le Mans alongside the Aston Martin DB2 of Peter Baker on 2.06.247. Gareth Evans was next up clocking a 2.08.051 in his Sunbeam Alpine, sharing row 7 with Andy Cox in his Triumph TR3 Falcon with a time of 2.11.645. Peter Bower qualified 15th in his MGA Twin Cam on 2.14.519 with George Edney’s Lester MG alongside on 2.14.758. Jason Kennedy qualified 17th in the Lancia Aurelia B20GT sharing row 9 with Mark Campbell’s Aston Martin DB2, their times, 2.16.023 and 2.17.718 respectively.  On row 10, Stuart Dean had posted, and for the start he would be joined by Shaun Bromley, who following a mix up on the timings of qualifying had no time recorded but was allowed to start on the back row on the basis that he had raced recently at the circuit, in his MGA Coupe. Unfortunately, it was Stuart who was unable to start the race due to problems with no 3 piston and subsequent investigation has revealed a cracked block. Fortunately, he has access to a replacement so the car should be healthy again soon.

Clerk of the Course recorded that 3 cars needed to get their transponders working and 3 others had lap times disallowed for exceeding track limits!   

Race

The loss of Stuart Dean’s DJS meant that 19 cars took to the grid for our race. It was the last of the day; indeed the last race of this double header meeting, but there were a surprising number of spectators still scattered about to watch the start just shy of 6.00pm, and as the sun continued to blaze down upon us.    

There was a certain inevitability about the outcome of this race, as long as David Alexander’s Lotus Elite held together and he duly took the lead from the start, and immediately started to stretch away from the field. Behind there was plenty of action off the line, but all negotiated Paddock Hill bend safely. Nigel Winchester had made a good start, jumping ahead of Brian Arculus, and Chris Mann made his usual great launch from 8th taking a number of cars and almost getting up to 3rd but was on the outside into Druids and had to give best to Andrew Mitchell, who had, in turn got ahead of Brian Arculus, both Elites line astern on the inside of the Alfa. They were closely followed by the rest of the field which streamed through in a great mass, some almost 3 abreast but they all nevertheless emerged unscathed to charge down into Graham Hill Bend and onto the Cooper Straight before heading into Surtees where the Indy Circuit splits off from the GP circuit. On this day, however, our racers were to stay on the great GP circuit and swung left up to and down Pilgrims Drop into the countryside, under the bridge and down Hawthorn Hill into Hawthorns.

David Alexander was already well clear by this stage but the rest of the field still headed by Nigel Winchester’s Lotus 7, swung right onto the Derek Minter Straight, then into Westfield and down to the famous Dingle Dell rising sharply toward another right hander at Sheen Curve. Then it was a 90 degree left turn through and out of Stirlings, applying full beans down under the Bridge before taking the long right hander at Clearways and Clark Curve and onto the Brabham Straight to complete the lap for the first time. The leading Lotus was by now almost 6 seconds ahead and virtually out of sight as Nigel Winchester crossed the line with Brian Arculus glued to the tail of the little open two seater, such a contrast in body styles from these two Chapman products. Two seconds behind came the third Lotus Elite with Andrew Mitchell aboard, just over half a second ahead of the fast-starting Disco Volante of Chris Mann who now had fellow sports racer, Tania Pilkington in the Maserati 300S bearing down on him. The fourth of the Lotus Elites was next up, with Barry Dye aboard, making it 4 Elites in the top 7. Barry was over 2.5 seconds clear of Mark Hoble who had got ahead of Johnny Shears early on but Johnny was going nowhere and this was to be a great dice between the two Morgans during the early part of the race. The top 10 was completed by Louis Frankel in the Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint, on the tail of Johnny and about to provide us with some real entertainment.

Peter Baker crossed the line, 11th in his Aston Martin DB2, followed by Gareth Evans in the sole Sunbeam Alpine, and Andy Cox in the Falcon bodied Triumph TR3 trying to hold off the challenging Allard of Simon Evans which must have been an intimidating sight in Andy’s mirrors. Already 4 seconds behind this group came Jason Kennedy in the Lancia Aurelia with Shaun Bromley in close attendance, Shaun having moved up 3 places from his last place starting position in his MGA  Coupe. Peter Bower was 17th in his MGA Twin Cam leading George Edney’s Lester MG and Mark Campbell’s Le Mans veteran, Aston Martin DB2.                

On lap 2, whilst David Alexander was steaming off into the distance, Brian Arculus managed to get by Nigel Winchester, making it an Elite 1-2 and by the end of the lap had pulled out over two seconds on the Lotus 7 albeit, now over 10 seconds behind David. Andrew Mitchell was 4th in his Elite but almost 4 seconds behind Nigel. This Lotus show was followed by Chris Mann in the Alfa Romeo Disco Volante and Tania Pilkington in the Maserati 300S and the sight and sound of these two red iconic sports racers exiting Paddock Hill Bend line astern and charging up Hailwoods Hill was very stirring. Chris had held off Tania’s inherently faster Maserati for 2 laps but for how much longer?              

 Barry Dye was next up, on his own in his Elite in 7th but behind, a battle between the two Morgans was a good watch, with Johnny Shears in the old upright rad version hounding Mark Hoble’s later model. Less than a second behind and threatening to join the Morgan party was Louis Frankel in the little blue Alfa Romeo. He was pretty spectacular through Paddock Hill bend carrying more speed than most and appearing to explore the limits of adhesion! Towards the back of the field Shaun Bromley had picked up one more place in his MGA and George Edney had moved his Lester MG ahead of Peter Bower’s MGA Twin Cam. The lap also saw the retirement of the big Allard as Simon Evans was concerned with the rising engine temperature. Any marginal cooling would be found out on this day.

David Alexander completed Lap 3 almost 17 seconds ahead of Brian Arculus, and Brian, in turn, had pulled away from the Winchester Lotus 7, but Nigel was pretty comfortable in 3rd as the Mitchell Elite was not quite able to match his lap speed and Andrew was now starting to look in his mirrors as a red Maserati was beginning to home in. Yes, Tania Pilkington had finally despatched Chris Mann’s Disco Volante. The race behind, for 7th, had become a 4-way battle as Barry Dye had been caught by Mark Hoble, Johnny Shears and Louis Frankel, less than a second covering the Lotus, Morgans and Alfa. In fact, Johnny had managed to pass Mark, and then, briefly, Barry before the end of the lap but Barry managed to get him back before they crossed the line. Peter Baker’s Aston DB2 was 3 seconds behind this battle and 2.5 seconds ahead of Gareth Evans in the Sunbeam Alpine whilst a further 3 seconds back was Andy Cox in the TR3 Falcon. Shaun Bromley was 8 seconds behind Andy, but had lost time bringing the MGA through to 14th which was probably where his pace was except that he may have been able to give Andy a good race had he started alongside as their lap times were quite close. George Edney had moved up another place, taking his MG Lester passed Jason Kennedy’s Lancia Aurelia. Behind, Peter Bower’s MGA Twin Cam and Mark Campbell’s DB2 seemed well matched on lap times.    

Twenty seconds after David Alexander had completed his 4th lap, second placed man, Brian Arculus headed for the pits to take the mandatory 45 second stop. He was followed in shortly after by the hard charging Louis Frankel in the Alfa Giulietta. Of course, this inevitably engendered place changes in the field as everyone moved up, but additionally, Mark Hoble had repassed Johnny Shears in their great all Morgan battle.

Completing lap 5, the leading Elite tore over the line over 35 seconds ahead of Nigel Winchester’s Lotus 7 but both Andrew Mitchell (Lotus Elite) and Tania Pilkington (Maserati) had started to catch Nigel, Andrew no doubt spurred on by the ever closing Maserati. Barry Dye was 5th, 10 seconds behind Tania but he had sped up and had capitalised on a mistake by Chris Mann in the Alfa to move ahead and separate himself from the Morgan battle, leaving Chris to fend off the Morgans and regain momentum. He would surely pull away again. Positions behind were unchanged but Brian Arculus and Louis Frankel were back on track and would soon be charging up the race order. No-one else had pitted at this stage.       

Three cars pitted on lap 6 – Nigel Winchester’s Lotus 7, Tania Pilkington’s Maserati and the Sunbeam Alpine of Gareth Evans. This meant that David Alexander had a 44 second lead over his nearest competitor, Andrew Mitchell in the Elite which inherited the lead when David pitted on lap 7. Barry Dye was now second in his Elite as Chris Mann had not yet got back to him in the Disco Volante which was nevertheless closing in. Others to pit on that lap were Mark Hoble in his Morgan, Peter Baker in his Aston DB2 and Andy Cox in the TR3 Falcon. Brian Arculus was moving back through te field after his stop, already back up to 6th.

David Alexandar’s lead had been so large that he came back onto the circuit in 2nd place just 22 seconds behind leader, Andrew Mitchell.  Four more cars took to the pits; the Lester MG of George Edney, the DB2 of Mark Campbell, both now a lap down to the leader, Barry Dye, who was followed in by his closest challenger, Chris Mann in the Alfa Disco Volante. Brian was now up to 5th and his fellow early pitter,  Louis Frankel was up to 8th, going like a train in the Alfa Sprint. The field was pretty mixed up at this stage with still quite a few cars yet to take their stops.  (Please note that I have no pit stop shots for this race)   

At the end of lap 9, David Alexander had regained the lead, 10 seconds ahead of the yet to stop Mark Shears. Brian Arculus was up to 3rd, albeit 47 seconds behind the leader but well clear of Tania Pilkington, the Maserati now 4th, as Andrew Mitchell pitted to hand over his Elite to Mark Morgan. Nigel Winchester was 6th, 11 seconds clear of Louis Frankel’s Alfa, and a further 11 seconds back, the battling pair of Chris Mann and Barry Dye were next up, back on track with Chris having repassed Barry’s Elite. Mark Hoble was 10th in his Morgan.

Three cars took to the pits at the end of lap 10 – Shaun Bromley (MGA), Jason Kennedy (Lancia Aurelia) and Johnny Shears in the Flat Rad Morgan. There were now several cars one lap down, but only to the leader as they all sat between David Alexander and second placed Brian Arculus. David lapped a couple more on lap 11 and the gap to Brian went out to over 1 minute. Peter Bower finally pitted his Twin Cm. He was the last to do so and on this track, which with two exceptions, all cars took over two minutes per lap, we only had 3 laps left for the field to sort itself out after the pit stops. The final positions were not yet set!

In a strong 3rd place, the Pilkington Maserati was nevertheless experiencing brake fade and during the course of lap 12 this caused Tania to spin. It was to drop her down the leader board with little time left to recover ground. As a result, Nigel Winchester was back up to 3rd, unchallenged by 4th placed Mark Morgan, but Mark was being rapidly caught by the exuberant Louis Frankel in the light blue Alfa Romeo, and seemed unlikely to resist the youngster’s charge. Chris Mann had the Disco Volante in 6th, just ahead of Barry Dye’s Lotus Elite and Tania’s Maserati now 8th. Last car on the lead lap, in 9th, was Mark Hoble in the Morgan Plus 4. Sadly, with just a couple of laps to go, Gareth Evans, stuck his hand out of the window of his Sunbeam Alpine, signalling retirement and he pulled off on the exit of Paddock Hill Bend by the marshal’s post.  A front wheel bearing had collapsed, causing the hub to move and brake loss. Gareth has not had much luck with the car this year.        

Louis Frankel overhauled Mark Morgan on the penultimate lap to take a superb 4th overall, and Tania Pilkington managed to snatch one of her lost places back, passing Barry Dye’s Lotus Elite but unable to quite catch Chris Mann’s Disco Volante. Otherwise positions remained unaltered as David Alexander took the chequered flag, after 14 laps,  almost 1.25 seconds ahead of Brian Arculus. David had not let up until the last lap, having posted his fastest lap on lap 13 in a 1.53.529. In 3rd, behind Brian, Nigel Winchester finished a fine 3rd in the little Lotus 7 over half a minute ahead of the very rapid Louis Frankel in the Alfa Giulietta Sprint. Mark Morgan was 5th, only just ahead of Chris Mann’s Alfa and Tania’s Maserati. Barry Dye was 8th and the last of the unlapped runners. The Lotus marque occupied 5 of the top 8 positions, 4 of them Elites.

Another fine drive by Johnny Shears netted him 9th in the Flat Rad Morgan whilst Mark Hoble shadowed him home in the other Plus 4. They had spent much of the race in close proximity and put on a fine show for the spectators. Peter Baker brought his DB2 home 11th just under 20 seconds behind the Morgan duo but well ahead of Andy Cox in the TR3 Falcon.. Shaun Bromley was 13th in his MGA coupe whilst some way behind, George Edney finished 14th in the smart MG Lester sports, less that 2 seconds ahead of Jason Kennedy in the lovely Lancia Aurelai B20GT. Mark Campbell finished 16th in his DB2, some 6.5 seconds ahead of Peter Bower’s MGA Twin Cam although I note that Peter’s best lap was over a second quicker than Mark’s best. So 17 finishers from a 19 car starting grid and they had all entertained us royally.

To be continued