Bite Autumn 2012

JADA BROOKES ENJOYS ANOTHER EXCITINGWEEKEND OF RACING AT THE HSCC SUPER PRIX ONTHE BRANDS HATCH GRAND PRIX CIRCUIT Historic Racing Historic Sports car club super prix PHOTOGRAPHER: IAN GILLETT

O nce again Brands Hatch provided the perfect setting for another weekend of action- packed racing on the historic and challenging Grand Prix circuit. This time round, it was the Historic Sports Car Club who held their 23 rd Super Prix at the end of June and beginning of July this year. As anticipated, adrenaline and excitement were central to the weekend as all manners of sports cars from the mid-1950s to the early 1980s took to the track for the 16- race programme. After thoroughly enjoying the racing at the Masters Historic Festival back in May, I was looking forward to another exciting weekend of racing. The atmosphere was absolutely amazing and I was already filled with expectations. I was especially eager to see the historic Formula 2 racing champions in their open-wheel racing cars, a category that has grown since it came under the wing of the Historic Sports Car Club. The sounds of the 1970s came alive on the tracks in the Evans Waterless Coolants 70s Road Sports Championship that kicked off the weekend in fine style. As usual, competitive vibes were in the air with reigning champion John Thomason looking good in his 1970 Triumph GT6. Among the 19 fellow racing drivers were competitors Charles Barter in his ex-Win 1971 Percy Datsun 240Z and son Julian in his 1979 TVR 3000M, Paul Conway in his 1970 Morgan Plus 8, Peter Shaw in his 1969 TVRTuscan and Ian Jacobs in his 1974 Mercedes 450SL. In the final 11 th lap, Paul Conway won with an overall timing of 20 minutes and 10 seconds and the fastest time of 1 minute and 40 seconds in the 2 nd lap. After the highlights of last year’s Historic Super Prix, drivers from France, Switzerland, Monaco and Italy came against the UK once again in the HSCC Classic

Formula 3 Championship. With a range of 1600cc cars from the early 1970s and 2- litre cars from the early 1980s on the track, the competition was a challenging one as defending champion Jamie Brashaw in his ex-Kenny Acheson 1979 March 793 fought off competition from former champion Benn Simms in his 1980 March 803 B, David Shaw in the ex-Nelson Piquet

James Murray in his 1963 Lola Mk 5A, Stuart Roach in his 1962 Alexis Mk4, Andrew Hibberd in his 1962 Lotus 22, and Swiss Philipp Buhofer in his 1963 Lola Mk 5A.

1978 Ralt RT1, Richard Trott in his 1978 Chevron B47 and Tom Bradshaw in his 1980 Argo JM6 to win the race. Coming in eleven seconds behind, Italian racerValerio Leone took second place while Brit Keith White came in third. When I saw the words ‘Junior School’ in the racing programme, I could not help but picture little children parading around in the playground in their toy racing cars. However, the Lurani Trophy for the Historic Formula Junior Championship Race, that has a seven-event programme across mainland Europe and made its only visit of the year to the UK at the Super Prix, is a category that was initially set up by Italian Count ‘Johnny’ Lurani over 50 years ago to cater for younger drivers of single- seater racing cars. Fresh from a recent race in Dijon in eastern France, drivers in this race included Italian PierreTonetti and Brit David Methley in similar 1963 Brabham BT6s, joint drivers Callum Macleod and Richard Utley in their 1961 Caravelle Mk2,

The race I was most looking forward to, the HSCC Historic Formula 2 Championship, finally hit the Grand Prix

circuit. As the grid of 1960 s and 1970s cars with 1600cc and 2-litre engines lined up at the starting point, I waited with anticipation for the action to take place. And off they went with powerful engines roaring round the first lap of the 20 minute race. With noses reminding me of Lamborghinis,the array of

racing cars including Chevrons, Brabhams, Pygmees and Ralts driven by racers from the UK, Germany, Switzerland, France, Austria and Belgium careered round each lap with heart-rendering adrenaline power.