Triple champion Jordan Harrison and Tom Gadd won a scintillating Classic Formula Ford 1600 race apiece as the Historic Sports Car Club’s 60th anniversary season-opener celebrated 75 years of Snetterton and local hero Jim Russell, the three-time British F3 champion who opened his fabled racing drivers’ school here in 1956.
Harrison, driving the Jesus Saves charity’s Van Diemen RF79 that Adriano Medeiros qualified on pole last year – rather than his own super-successful Lola T540E – could not quite match the Brazilian’s qualifying feat, but did then beat polesitter Gadd’s RF81 by 0.031 seconds in Saturday’s opening contest.
Gadd, a 750 Motor Club Locost and F1000 champion, switched to FF1600 last year with the Numanair/Mike Mackonochie tribute car and finished second to category legend Rick Morris first time out, before beating him in Sunday’s leg. Twelve months on, new father Tom repeated his 2-1 sequence, besting Harrison by 1.774s in Sunday’s equally gripping round.
“It helped to have the right ratios,” said Gadd after he and Harrison – fortunate that a broken gear selector fork in qualifying didn’t ruin his weekend – traded the lead repeatedly in both races. Gadd misjudged the timing countdown on Saturday, finishing a nosecone short, not knowing it was the last lap. “I almost had to stop when Ben Hadfield missed a gear as we accelerated out of Nelson – that enabled Tom to get away, but both races were great fun,” said Harrison, whose rival crucially put a car between them as they caught one of several midfield battles at Riches.
Rick Morris, a Formula Ford Festival pioneer in the inaugural event at Snetterton in 1972, was best of the rest both days in his Royale RP29. “Once I lost the tow, third was the best I could do,” said Morris, who returns to South Africa this week to contest the Simola Hillclimb at Knysna with Ian Schofield’s team. Young Cal Bennett qualified third and returned fourths, recovering from a spin at Murrays on Sunday. A big feature was the battle between the almost matching Van Diemen RF81s of Alan Williamson and Graham Payne, who narrowly prevailed in Shaws Motorsport’s stunning homage to Ayrton Senna’s car.
Penlington impressed on his debut outing in Classic FF1600
Photo by: Richard Styles
Mention must be made of 16-year-old debutant George Penlington who, with no karting experience and tests at Silverstone and Brands Hatch under his belt, qualified the Royale RP26 his father David last raced 20 years ago seventh. He held the place in the face of tough opposition on Saturday and improved to sixth on Sunday, being quickest through the Bentley Straight speed trap at one point. “I got a triple tow,” he grinned afterwards, not quite believing his first race weekend.
The Historic FF1600 races, watched by stalwart Merlyn designer/manufacturer Clive Hayward, 80 next month, were no less combative, although triple champion Benn Simms ran away with both in his rare Jomo. Now building Kent engines for customers, Simms was chased by Rob Wainwright (Elden Mk8) both days, with Simon Toyne (Winkelmann WDF2) third on Saturday. Mark Wilkes (Merlyn Mk20) won the Over 50s trophies, but a brilliant kerb-hopping third place on Sunday, when he beat Danny Stanzl (Crossle 16F), made Hayward, daughter Caroline and two young grandsons’ day.
The 500 Owners’ Association’s F3 races brought Russell’s career into focus. Especially since Richard Kelly, driving the Cooper-Norton in which Norfolk’s racing hero won the second of three successive crowns in 1956, ran out of methanol fuel exiting Murrays on Saturday, but coasted over the line second. George Shackleton – from neighbouring Suffolk, to which Russell, who lived to 98, emigrated in later life – transported his immaculate Cooper-Norton in a wonderful Cooper Car Company-liveried Ford Thames van and drove it superbly to two unopposed victories.
Defending champion Alex Wilson’s Guernsey-flagged version did not complete a racing lap and Kelly conked out on Sunday, promoting Andy Raynor and Richard Fuller to second and third in Cooper-Nortons. On ANZAC day, RAF 29th Squadron veteran Chris Wilson won the early class in his ex-works Cooper-JAP Mk2, a New Zealand barn find. Jonathan Morris earned Sunday’s early honours in his South African Waye-JAP.
Kelly helped to commemorate the career of Russell
Photo by: Richard Styles
Like Shackleton from Bury St Edmunds, Ben Glasswell was another double winner in Historic FF2000 in a Reynard SF77. Last year’s championship runner-up hurtled clear of Pinto rivals, now back on Avon (Nova) tyres, to set a fresh lap record. Andrew Storer and Jonty Hair led Saturday’s pursuit. Reece Wood and 1979 Euroseries champion Adrian Reynard, 75, completed Sunday’s podium after Storer and Hair collided at Chapman on the opening lap. Andy Lancaster (Hawke DL16) topped the older class.
Saturday’s Guards Trophy sportscar opener was short on numbers but not on quality battles. John Davison (ex-Digby Martland Chevron B6) led initially, pursued by Samuel Harrison (Lotus 23B) and Benn Tilley (starting Mark Gillies’ Elva Mk8), but talented Scot Elliot Paterson (Ginetta G16) roared ahead to stay, sweetening the 400-mile return journey to Perth. Harrison landed second from Charlie Allison (ex-Trevor Twaites B8), who overhauled Gillies with a lap to square. Graham Ridgway (Lotus Elan) claimed GT spoils.
The Alfa Romeo races featured a great spectrum of models, but the glorious 414bhp 4Cs of Jack Berry and reigning double champ Toby Broome – graduating from a 147 – prevailed on Saturday when Jamie Thwaites’ mighty Giulietta TCR’s turbo grenaded. Broome’s turbocar went into limp mode at the start, but he recovered from last to second. A puncture put Broome out early on Sunday, elevating Scott Austin (156), football goalie Stacey Dennis (Giulietta) and Andy Page’s venerable Giulietta to second, third and fourth behind Berry. A prolonged Turismo battle rewarded James Powell (147) when George Warren’s GTV ran out of brakes at Brundle on the last lap. Sam Kay (33) took it on Sunday after Warren was clonked by Mark Purcell (155).
Richard Plant (Morgan +8) won both ’70s Road Sports races, from John Williams (Porsche 911SC) and Nic Strong (Marcos 3000 GT) respectively. Seasoned Lotus Europa duellists Jim Dean and Howard Payne, both former champions, enjoyed an entertaining second tussle before Payne retired. Mark Godfrey (Lotus 7) won the opening Historic stanza after Frazer Gibney’s Elan’s diff failed. Rob Hollyman’s ‘Forrari’ – a Ford Duratec-engined Dino 246 clone – took the second bout after Godfrey pulled off at the Bomb Hole with victory seemingly assured.
Hollyman’s ‘Forrari’ triumphed after Godfrey’s Lotus (r) hit trouble
Photo by: Richard Styles
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