Oulton Park Gold Cup

[John Turner]

22 starters; 18 finishers.

In association withn Dunlop Tyres, this 45 minute race was the first of two for the Guards cars; this one for the sports racers over 45 minutes. Much as I love these cars, I actually can't remember too much about the race itself except that the changeable weather and safety car period had an impact on the result and we did have a number of different leaders. There were 10 Chevron B8s and one B6 in this race. Guy Minshaw was on pole in a B8 (23) but he, and several others were overtaken on the first lap by Nick Fleming, starting from the 3rd row in his B8 (42) - see pic 1. Pic 2 shows Nick Thompson/Sean McLurg B6 (6) which eventually finished 10th. Pic 3 shows the B8 (19) of Ross Warburton, the blue smoke possibly showing the early signs of its demise after completing 11 laps. Stuart Tilley went well in the Elva Mk7S (9) but was later to experience mechanical problems (can't remember but it may have been transmisson) which dropped him to last of the classified finishers. Crispin Harris (16 - Lister Jaguar - 19th) stays to one side as the B6 and the Matthew Newman Lotus 23B (43) join battle. Newman finished 8th.

[John Turner]

Minshaw soon retook the lead - see pic 1 - but a driveshaft failure on lap 5, unfortunately, made him the first to retire after 4 laps. His fastest lap, on lap 3, was not to be beaten although the worsening weather restricted that possibility anyway. The lead was then taken up by James Cottingham (B8 - 78), and the weather began to further deteriorate. Chris Fearon in one of two Ginetta G16s (93) in the race, finished 13th. Graeme Dodd in the other (45) was up to 3rd after Minshaw retired, chasing James Shryver's B8, but according to Marcus Pye, 'threw in the towel' once the rain worsened although I note that the car was classified 18th, so I'm assuming that James Dodd later decided to take it back out. As we have seen, James Cottingham (78) was leading but, as the weather deteriorated, pitted to hand over to brother, Jeremy, whereupon James Schryver held the lead. The second Lister Jaguar (20) of Phil Bennett was 12th.

[John Turner]

The weather was atrocious, particularly after the pit stops had taken place as you can see from the first pic. There was great dice between 3 of these cars. Peter Horsman leads the group here in the Merlyn Mk6 (29) but was eventually to finish 7th, just behind Clive Wilson's Elva Mk7 (70), whilst the Lotus 23B of Matthew Newman was 8th, less than 3 seconds covering the 3 of them at the flag. Pic 2 shows Andy Newall splashing to victory in the JCB B8 (14). His timely pit stop and the deploying of the safety car (for reasons I cannot recall) placed him first behind the SC, and upon his release with a clear road ahead he drove away whilst his pursuers sorted themselves out in the poor visibility caused by all the spray, to win by nearly 11seconds. 2nd place was taken by James Schryver in the B8 (34). His car had looked particularly tricky in the conditions, but he had kept it on the island throughout. The Cottingham brothers took the final podium position. Final pic is of the Jeremy Deeley/David Drew Lotus 23B (48) which finished 17th.

[John Turner]

21 starters;17 finishers

Sponsored by Lloyds/TSB, this race was over 20 minutes and ran in very wet conditions, particularly in the first half. It was not really ideal F5000 weather and, although grid positions were based on the previous day's race results, one wondered how long even Simon Hadfield was going to be able to keep his Trojan T101 (40) ahead of Richard Evans, who had shown very good pace the day before in his Chevron B40 (9). The answer was not very long, although the first pic shows Hadfield ahead on the first lap, with Evans and Darwin Smith in the March 722 (10) in hot, or should that be 'wet', pursuit. A little further back down the field, Matthew Wurr (99 - McLaren M10B - 11th), leads Anthony Taylor (5 - Chevron B24 - 15th) and Terry Fisher (21 - Chevron B40 - DNF). 33 is Nick Shrigley-Feigl's Lola T332 which finished 13th, and 54 is Mark Dwyer in his Lola T332C which finished 7th. Pic 5 shows Neil Glover (30 - Lola T330/332) leading the Modus M7 of Mike Barnby who was 9th. Gregory Thornton shows signs of grass cutting on his way to 12th in his Surteees TS11 (1)

[John Turner]

Judy Lyons in the fabulous Gurney Eagle (74) finished 17th. Richard Evans (9) soon took the lead and then simply drove away, seemingly in a class of his own, in these conditions. He won by 33 seconds from Simon Hadfield (40) who saw off an early challenge from Darwin Smith to score a secure 2nd place. Tony Trimmer started 3rd on the grid in the Lola T332 (6) and is seen here leading Daryl Taylor (8 - Chevron B28). Taylor was a revelation in this race. He had started 13th but with some good wets on and a set up to his liking, he made the most of it, and worked his way forward to finish an excellent 3rd in front of Trimmer. After his initial strong showing, Darwin Smith (10) dropped back a little to finish 5th - I don't know whether he had a spin but he had appeared to have the pace to finish 3rd. Final pic is of Neil Glover (30), having just about shaken off Barnby (53), now being pursued by Mark Dwyer (56) and Frank Lyons (64). However, they finished in this order 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th. Lyons had come up from 18th on the grid.

[Marcus Mussa]

Valerio Leone is looking for a good photo of his March 783 (no. 80) during the Gold Cup CF3 race (probably in qualifying as he went out after only a couple of laps in the race) - if anybody has anything can they send me a PM?
Marcus

[RickT]

Hi All

Great shots again John, the second Derek Bell race was a really tricky one. Dad got a faceful of wet cement dust in the B24 on the pace lap and spent the rest of the race trying to clear the soup like paste from his visor to see where he was going !

Special mention must go to Nick Shrigley Fiegl, having a race in one of Frank's Lola T332's. He started late after giving up on trying to fit the wets which had refused to go on, he therefore started on slicks and somehow climbed all the way up to the tail of the wet shod Barnby, Lyons, Dwyer and Glover scrap lapping three seconds quicker than them to catch up but then found it impossible to try and pass them as any change of line meant zero grip. In a final attempt on the last lap to pass Barnby he overcooked it and had a quick spin. Quite where he found any grip on slicks to go so quickly was a mystery to me in those very wet conditions - just look at the photos !

Thanks again for the reports and photos.

Richard Taylor

[John Turner]

Originally Posted by Marcus Mussa

Valerio Leone is looking for a good photo of his March 783 (no. 80) during the Gold Cup CF3 race (probably in qualifying as he went out after only a couple of laps in the race) - if anybody has anything can they send me a PM?
Marcus

I don't know whether you've had any luck here Marcus, but I haven't been able to find a shot of Valerio, unfortunately.

Richard great info, thanks. These insights make such a difference.

[John Turner]

29 starters; 26 finishers

With Dunlop Tyres, a 45 minute race for the GT and sports car classes of this series. The first pic shows Jamie Boot (72 - TVR Griffith 400), leading the Fleming/Fleming Lotus Elan 26R (87 - DNF), Jon Minshaw (69 - Jaguar E-type), Simon Garrard (79 - TVR Griffith 400) and the Stephen Radcliffe (44 - Jaguar E-type) into the Esses/Chicane (why no name?) before Knockerbrook for the first time. Well up was Marc Campfield (12 - Austin Healey 3000) and Martin Stretton in the Lotus Elan 26R 'Gold Bug' (62). Unfortunately, Stretton had to retire it after 9 laps, and Campfield, too, was to retire somewhat later, but more of that anon. Pic 3 shows the Michael and Julian Heywood E- type (84 - 23rd), the John Watson/Matthew Watts Lotus Elan (4 - 21st) and the McPherson/Halstead Turner (2 - 20th). Karl Wetherall was 12th in his Triumph TR4 (10), whilst the similar car (78) of the Ross-Jones's was 19th, and Martin Richardson, 15th in his MGB (64). Pic 5 is of Jon Minshaw heading up Clay Hill at speed and a similar shot of Martin Stertton before his retirement.

[John Turner]

Rebecca Ruff finished 24th in her Porsche 911 (22), whilst Denis Welch drove as strongly as ever to take 5th in his Healley 3000 (95). The Chevrolet Corvette (75) of Fearnside/Hope rumbled round to finish 17th whilst the Marcos Volvo GT (28) of Barry Sewell and Malcolm Ricketts finished 13th. This race was Jamie Boot's to lose, and lose it he did. Capable of lapping in the 1.59's when the best anyone else could do was the low 2.01's, he should have wrapped this up, but inexplicably, he failed to pit during a safety car period when all his closest rivals did. If there was a good reason I wish he would tell us why, since, despite his best efforts, it left him far too much to do when he pitted after the cars had been released. Mark Hoble was last of the classified finishers in his Morgan Plus 4 (27) although lap times suggest a higher finish was possible. Would you like to tell us about it Mark? Mike Newman drove a very consistent race in his E-type (56) to finish 2nd just 7.5seconds behind Minshaw.

[John Turner]

Marc Campfield (12) was, as ever, fast and entertaining, but whilst he recovered from this moment, he was to retire shortly after, pulling off at Knickerbrook. The next shot, not great of the cars, but does show the view looking back from Knickerbrook, through the Esses and back up the hill to the marshall's post at Hill Top. 17 is the E-type of Robert Farrell (14th) leading the MGBs of Andrew Bentley (98 - 16th) and Martin Richardson (64 - 15th). Stephen Radcliffe and John Bussell made it an E type 1-2-3, finishing just over 4 seconds behind Newman. Simon Garrad was on target for a top 6 finish, probably 5th, in fact, in his TVR Griffith 400 (79) except that he threw it off the track whilst in 4th place, on the penultimate lap, when Jamie Boot's recovering similar car started looming large in his mirrors. Given that the Boot car was capable of lapping 4 secs quicker, discretion would have been rewarded with 5th place and an undamaged car, whereas the (understandable, though) racer's instinct left him classified 10th with a damaged car. Boot was, of course, 4th, so I think it would be fair to say that neither Griff achieved its potential, but that, as they say, is racing. Robert Barrie (1 - Porsche 911), occasionally 3 wheeling but always under control again won the B2 class and finished 11th, and that included an avoidance of the rotating TR4 of Wetherall out of Cascades towards the end of the race. The final pic is of 3 white E-types. Michael Moore (5 - 6th) and Steve Tandy (19 - 7th) pass by as Charles Cook (59 - 18th) recovers from a spin.

[Marcus Mussa]

Originally Posted by John Turner

I don't know whether you've had any luck here Marcus, but I haven't been able to find a shot of Valerio, unfortunately.

Richard great info, thanks. These insights make such a difference.

I put Valerio in touch with Charlie Wooding. Valerio's car is ex Teo (and Corrado) Fabi.

All the best
Marcus

[John Turner]

29 starters; 22 finishers

Sponsored by West End Motors, this 20 minute race was, I think, only ever going to be headed by that class act, Neil Fowler, in his Reynard SF79 (98), who was on pole by nearly 9 tenths. It didn't stop a determined Tom Mills, alongside, to try and stay with him at the start, but it all ended at the second corner, Cascades, on the first lap, when Mills appeared to outbrake himself on cold tyres and the first pic shows him about to beach himself in the kitty litter in his Delta T80 (49). Same lap and top ten dicers, Antony Raine (25 - Merlyn Mk28 - DNF), Andrew Storer (72 - Royale RP27) and Wil Arif (12 - Royale RP30 - 10th). Pic 3 - a good battle, as Colin Wright (75 - Reynard 79) leads Scott Temple (19 - Reynard 79), but they had changed places by the end of the race finishing 3rd and 4th. Neil Fowler cruises serenely on, and but for a safety car period later on his win by 3.2 seconds would have been at least five times that. Pic 5 shows Andrew Storer again, this time leading James Murray (15 - Reynard SF27). Whilst Storer went on to finish 7th, Murray retired after completing 5 laps. 47 is John Randall's Lola Supervee (20th) in the invitation class for such cars.

[John Turner]

Unfortunately, James Ledamun didn't finish the race in his Crossle 51F(36). Through Britten's comes David Clark, last of the classified runners in his Dulon MP21 (42). Pic 3 shows Martyn Donn (59 - Supernova BH3) leading John De Ritter (44 - Delta 79 - 16th) but for some reason, Donn dropped back to finish 21st. Iain Rowley (never heard of him!) leads Ledamun. Iain finished 12th in his Delta T79. Following the safety car period Fowler again pushed off followed by Dale Spruce (34) and Scott Temple (19) both in Reynard SF79s. They finished in this order 3rd and 4th. In fact SF79s took the first 5 places - a bit special, are they? Last pic shows Peter Denham (Reynard SF78) leading David Wild in another SF79. They finished 8th and 9th respectively.

[SJWBallistic]

John
As always photos are great, following the sequence does this mean 500cc F3 will be appearing next?
I was having my first race in my dad's Dastle car number 21 at this event and would love to see any pictures you may have.
Stuart Wright

[John Turner]

23 starters; 18 finishers

Stuart, in a word 'yes'; my last race review of the season. A 20 minute race for these very photogenic cars, it was led from the start by Nigel Ashman in his Cooper MkIX (1) and he always seemed to have a safe margin, winning by being consistently quick rather than having the outright pace over one lap that one or two of his pursuers had. The first pic shows Roy Hunt, who later had an off here, which lost him a lot of time and several places. In recovering to 4th at the flag, he posted fastest lap, fully 1.5 seconds quicker that the winner's best. The next picture is very poor, but the car only lasted 1 lap so it's the only one I was able to get. It's worth showing though because it is Duncan Rabagliati out in the very Germanic style influenced Trimax 1 (6), the first time this car had been raced, I believe in over 50 years. I think overheating was the cause of its retirement. Behind Duncan here is Geoff Gartside who finished 13th in his Cooper Mk8 (9). Pic 3 is of Richard Bishop-Miller who finished 16th in this very early Cooper, a Mk2 (48). 16 is Patrick Morin who finished one place behind him in the Cooper MkXI, and 36 is the JBS Mk11 of Hakan Sandberg who was the last of the classified finishers in 18th place. 38, leading a gaggle of cars is Kerry Horan in the delightfully named Trenberth Vincent. He finished 12th.

[John Turner]

10 is Richard Ellingworth in his Martin Norton. He finished 6th. The only other driver (Hunt being the other) to get into the 2.18s was Neil Hodges in the Cooper MkVIII (92), but he finished 5th. The only surviving picture I have of Stuart Wright in the Dastle (21), in which he passed the chequered flag in 14th place. The battle for 2nd place between Mike Fowler (31 - Cooper MkV) and Gordon Russell (27 - Cooper Mk8) was a good one, finally resolved in Russell's favour when Fowler lost a bit of pace towards the end of the race, nearly getting caught by the hard charging Hunt who posted that fastest race lap on the last lap! 91 is Rodney Delves in the Kieft CK52 in which he finished 10th. The final shot is of Nigel Ashman, lapping Richard Utley ( 2 - JBS Norton Mk1) on his way to winning by nearly 13 seconds. Utley was 15th.

And that is your lot for this year!

[delta]

The story of the two James DNF. James Murry clutch blew which was a shame as he would of finnished at the front im sure. James Ledamun and myself had a great dice after safty car and he got past me round the outside of the hairpin which was brilliant fun then the daft nitwit fell off all on his own at he next chicane after all his hard work.

[John Turner]

I bet he's not laughing! Thanks, Iain.

[Alan Raine]

I've finally got around to sorting out my photos from the Gold Cup and have put the on Flickr. I recently invested in some better lenses so hopefully next year the on track photos might be better focused

http://www.flickr.com/photos/alansar...7622702658096/

[Colin Parkinson]

Alan, nice pic of my MGA. Thanks

Colin