Classic Touring Car Racing Club meeting on 14/15 July 2007 organised by the BARC

Neil Wins Group 1 Outright in Fiesta

Neil won the Group 1 race in convincing style, starting towards the back of the grid but making up places on the grid and gaining the lead on a dampish track on the second lap. Pete Halford won both of the Double Header Post Historic races, winning from Stephen Primett and David Thomas in the dry first race and David Thomas and Roger Stanford in the damp second. 

Post Historic Race 1

Pete Halford set a convincing pole in qualifying on a dry, but very windy day. Competitors really enjoyed this challenging circuit. The hairpin before the finish line was particularly difficult and quite a few cars either spun or under steered off. Roger and Jack Stanford were welcome additions to the grid. Their Lester Owen engined BMW's have always been age-eligible for the PHTC, the carbs were the problem. However, Roger has located homologation papers for the induction system although championship co-ordinator David Howard was none to impressed that they were in German. Fears that the cars would be over-competitive where proved unfounded when they qualified 6th and 10th on the grid, behind both Steve Primett's Escort and Tony Crudgington's Dolomite.

The next day it was dry, if a bit cloudy for the race. There were a couple of non-starters. Jack Stanford didn't take the grid and David Howard withdrew after his V12 ran it's big ends in qualifying. James Christie had one of his half shaft bearings disintegrate during qualifying and the Escort ones in the spares box didn't fit! A phone call had brother Jason speeding up the A1 and they were changed with the help of former owner Dave Nixon.

Steve Primett got a fantastic start and out-dragged a sluggish Pete Halford to the first corner. However, Pete soon got the big Camaro wound up and went by on the straight opposite the pits where they were followed by Tony Crudgington, Dave Thomas, Roger Stanford and Mark Lucock. Then came Steven Young in his Mini, with Neil right behind before he went by the Mini on Tower Bend only for the Mini to re-pass before the Jim Clark Esses although the Mini had to retire soon after with mechanical problems. Pete Halford went off round the back of the circuit, nearly collecting Roger Stanford as he re-gained the tarmac, the BMW continuing minus a front quarter bumper. So Steve Primett led across the line followed by Crudgington - Thomas - Stanford - Halford - Lucock - Bray.

David Thomas overtook Tony Crudgington for second place opposite the pits. Then Roger spun the BMW on the exit from the complex and Mark Lucock and Pete Halford got by. Crossing the line at the end of lap two it was Primett - Thomas - Crudgington - Halford - Lucock - Stanford - Bray. Just after the line Pete Halford stormed by Tony Crudgington's Dolomite on the approach to Clervaux and set off after Dave Thomas and a lap later he passed the Capri and was up to second.

Mark Lucock retired with a broken clutch cable on lap five then Neil went wide at the back of the circuit letting Simon Kinsey past with Len Allgood catching both of them. Pete Halford finally past Steve on lap eight. He managed to stayed tucked in behind for a while but the Camaro slowly pulled away to win with a four second margin. Then a long gap to Dave Thomas who had Tony Crudgington continually trying to out-brake him. They were followed by Stanford - Kinsy - Bray who were nose to tail.

James Christie won the important class D battle with Tony Crates, who had been battling with Martin Doherty's Cortina before it went off song and dropped right back to be lapped.

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Post Historic Race 2

Only 13 took the grid as both David Howard and Jack Stanford had to call it a day after qualifying and neither Martin Doherty nor Steven Young could resume after their first race retirements. Black clouds had appeared overhead while the cars were in the assembly area and there was a little light rain during the latter stages of the race.

Pete Halford made his usual slow start from pole and Stephen Primett, Tony Crudgington and David Thomas all powered past him. Pete recovered quickly and as they went into Tower for the first time the order was David Thomas (Capri) - Pete Halford (Camaro) - Tony Crudgington (Dolomite) - Roger Stanford (BMW 2002) - Stephen Primett (Escort) - Mark Osborne (Dolomite) - Neil Bray (Capri) - Len Allgood (Escort) - Simon Kinsey (Escort).

David Thomas (Capri) headed Pete Halford (Camaro) into the Complex on the first lap, followed by Tony Crudgington (Dolomite), Roger Stanford (BMW 2002), Steve Primett (Escort), Mark Osborne (Dolomite) and just coming into the picture Neil Bray (Capri)

Mark Lucock was making ground after starting at the back of the grid, passing Neil out of the chicane opposite the pits on the second lap to get up to seventh. Mark (Lucock) then came up on the inside of Mark (Osborne) on the approach to Tower. They touched, door handle to door handle and both went spinning onto the grass, rejoining at the back of the field.

James Christie was going well, the Avenger comfortably in front of class rival Tony Crates (Lotus Cortina Mk1) when something broke in the drive train going round the hairpin, it locked up and sent James out onto the grass into retirement. Around the same time Simon Kinsey's Escort appeared to loose a cylinder and he dropped rapidly back and had to retire before the end of the race.

It started to rain during the fourth lap, Pete Halford had a moment, dropping him back to third place and Roger Stanford got past both Pete and Tony Crudgington to move up to second. Pete recovered, got the power down and passed both Roger and David Thomas on lap six, taking over lead which he increased to nearly five seconds at the finish. David and Roger circulated nose to tail for the rest of the race. Roger just could not get by but afterwards David was full of praise for Rogers clean racing.

Then Steve Primett got by Tony. Neil was just behind and the three of them ran very close together for several laps before Steve pulled out a gap. On the last lap Neil made one final effort to get by Tony coming into the complex. He pulled alongside and just edged the lead round the hairpin only to spin, allowing Tony to regain his place. Mark Osborne had been coming back through the field after his early mishap, he passed Neil as well while he was on the grass and Neil scraped home seventh overall just in front of Keith Calver.

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Group 1

Proceedings were running ahead of schedule as the Group 1 cars assembled in the collecting area for the penultimate race of the day. It had started to rain about an hour before, but it had stopped by the time they left for the grid, and there was a dry line left by the preceding Clubmans cars on their wet weather tyres. There were only ten cars, many of the softy southerners not willing to make the trek north up the A1. David Howard had to withdraw after his engine problems in qualifying and the Stanford's had opted to run in Post Historic.

The rain started again just as the cars arrived at the grid. When the lights went out David Thomas shot away to take the lead, ahead of Mark Fowler, who has a decent engine again, Jim McLoughlin in the Ric Wood engined Capri and Neil who made up his normal four places off the start, all down to the fact he spends his winters driving trials cars in the mud! By the time they had gone through Clervaux, Hawthorn and The Chicane these four had already opened up a gap on Brian Stevens (XJS), Steve Barber (driving Neil's son Chris' Escort Mk3) and Pete Halford.

Neil was close behind Jim McLoughlin on the entrance to Sunny In and when Jim got the Capri a little sideways coming out of Sunny Out Neil got his nose ahead. Once Jim got things sorted out his Ric Wood power bought him almost alongside Neil round the left hander coming into the Complex. Neil held his line, they touched briefly, but Neil was in front, pulling ahead as they entered the hairpin where he passed Mark Fowler to cross the line just behind Dave Thomas.

All thoughts of a class win went out of the window now. Team 76 were thinking of the big one but what a man to have in front of you, someone who has won more races than most of us have had hot dinners. The conditions were strange. Yes it was raining a little bit but there was no standing water and no spray. However, the track definitely wasn't friendly to powerful rear wheel drive cars and Neil has a lot of FWD experience in slippery conditions from when he used to autocross Mini's in the seventies, albeit he had two arms then!

Neil closed on Dave coming through the Jim Clark Esses and was right behind him through Sunny. Coming up to the technical section though the Complex and the Hairpin even Dave had no answer and Neil was through. Once ahead he steadily increased his lead, just hoping the Kent engine would hang together! It did and Neil took his first overall win.

Behind Neil Steve Barber was also going well and by lap five was second, about eight seconds behind Neil. He kept his position, but steadily lost ground to the Flying Fiesta to be thirteen seconds behind at the end.

Mark Fowler dropped back after he and Jim McLoughlin touched coming out of the hairpin at the end of lap three. Mark had a tremendous spin and for a moment it looked as if it would end up in tears with the Capri in the Armco. Fortunately he just got it back under control and continued at the back of the field.

As usual Pete Halford started to increase his pace after three or four laps, passing Dave Thomas about half way through as did Jim McLoughlin. Dave then got involved in a battle for position with Brian Stevens which was won by the XJS after Dave spun the Capri on the last lap.

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