Harrison makes it tough at the top for Jackson

Cam Jackson won the first of this weekend’s two HSCC Historic Formula Ford races, but a new challenger kept him looking in his mirrors.

Samuel Harrison was right on the tailpipe of Jackson’s Winkelmann from the start and stubbornly refused to let Jackson dominate. His Elden Mk8 was almost as quick as the Winkelmann and the leading pair were more than 30s ahead of the rest of the field by the time the chequered flag came out. Harrison was rarely more than 0.6s away from his rival until the closing laps, when Jackson pulled out a lead of almost 2s over the Yorkshire teenager.

Matt Wrigley was third in his dark-green Merlyn Mk11A/20, having passed Horatio Fitz-Simon’s Merlyn Mk20 on the final lap. Wrigley had come out on top of a lengthy scrum just outside the podium positions, led at different times by Brian Morris (Lola T202), Danny Stanzl’s Elden and Fitz-Simon. The number 56 Merlyn of Fitz-Simon appeared to be having a few issues; he dropped to fifth on the second lap after starting third and only fighting back late on, to then be overtaken by Wrigley.

Stanzl was also unlucky, having worked his way to the front of the group and run as high as third, only to be passed by Morris and left behind. Over 50 class winner Morris was fifth and Stanzl sixth.

Ross Drybrough was seventh in his Merlyn Mk20. He ran well at Cadwell last year and ran his own race, just ahead of Tim Brise (Merlyn Mk20) in eighth. Alex Meek, in a Merlyn Mk20A, was ninth, having passed Kevin Stanzl’s Crossle and benefited from the retirement of Glenn Eagling’s distinctive green Lotus 61MX. Stanzl Senior was twelfth, behind Jeremy Caine in Neil Fowler’s Lola T200.

Full results at TSL Timing

Park is Saturday’s king of the Mountain

Andrew Park scored a last-lap victory in the first Formula Ford 2000 final of this weekend’s HSCC Wolds Trophy.

This means that the 2019 champion, driving a Reynard SF81, has laid down a challenge to championship leader Benn Simms, who was second after leading the majority of the race in his SF77.

Simms was quick but not quite in the dominant form he showed at Snetterton. Park refused to let him screech off into the distance, attacking where necessary. By half-distance the two drivers were roughly equal on lap times and less than a second apart. A very rapid final lap was enough to catch and pass Simms for the win.

Third-placed Graham Fennymore (Reynard SF81) also pulled off a last-lap pass, knocking Paul Allen’s Delta DT78 out of podium contention despite Allen’s seemingly-secure third spot. Fennymore had already taken back fourth place from Murray Shepherd, whose Van Diemen RF82 was the only Class FF2000 car on the grid. Shepherd had qualified fifth in his group and worked his way up from ninth on the grid.

Shepherd was followed home by Ian Pearson’s Royale RP30. Pearson had won his own private skirmish with Graham Ridgway’s SF78, demoting the latter to seventh.

The large FF2000 entry meant that qualifying heats were held for those who finished below fifth in the main session. The winner of Saturday’s heat was Ben Glasswell, driving a Reynard SF77. He finished the main race in tenth place, ahead of Adrian Reynard, who had come through the heat in fourth in a 1979 Reynard. Between Ridgway and Glasswell were the SF79s of Andrew Storer and Stephen Glasswell.

Full results at TSL Timing

Image copyright Martin Cooper

Jackson cruises to Cadwell victory as Chart misses out

Cam Jackson won his first race of the weekend in HSCC Classic Formula Ford. The Winkelmann driver, at his home circuit, was denied the challenge of Henry Chart but had a new rival in Samuel Harrison.

Chart was due to start from second but did not get on to the grid after blowing His Van Diemen RF81’s engine up in qualifying. This left Jordan Harrison (Lola T540E) and Samuel Harrison in an Elden Mk8 to try and catch Jackson.

Neither was able to get on his tail, but Samuel Harrison rapidly gained on Jordan Harrison, passing his more experienced rival on lap 5. He continued to gain ground while the Lola driver struggled with suspension troubles, sliding down the timesheet and into retirement.

This left Samuel Harrison to attempt an attack on Jackson, but he was now increasing in pace and pulling away. Harrison held a safe second place from Rick Morris’s Royale RP21, promoted to third place. Some way behind, Paul Unsworth was fourth in his Lola T200, having sneaked past Stuart Kestenbaum’s 1979 Van Diemen on the penultimate lap.

The lower reaches of the top ten were the site of a lot of position-shuffling; a disrupted qualifying meant that some of the slower entrants found themselves higher up the grid than usual and took their chances. Mark Harrison was sixth, having qualified eleventh in the Royale RP21 raced by son Jordan Harrison last year. He was followed by the PRS RH01 of Colin Williams and Ben Hadfield in a Van Diemen RF78. Both Hadfield and ninth-placed Alan Fincham (Van Diemen RF80) travelled up and down the places in this middle pack before settling into eighth and ninth.

Richard Yeomans was tenth in his Crossle 25F. Robin Haslam sorted out his Alexis Mk15 after his qualifying tangle with Hadfield to finish twelfth, behind Laurie Hughes’s Van Diemen RF78.

Full results at TSL Timing

Cadwell Park Wolds Trophy: qualifying round-up

Qualifying for all HSCC Formula Ford categories is now done at Cadwell, with some familiar faces on top and some surprises.

Cam Jackson is out again in his Winkelmann for both Historic and Classic Formula Ford and qualified on pole both times, but was not quite on his usual dominant form. Henry Chart will line up second in Classic less than half a second slower, although he had engine trouble with his Van Diemen RF81 towards the end of the session. Jordan Harrison (Lola T504E) is another couple of tenths behind in third, setting up an interesting opening lap.

Samuel Harrison will start fourth in his Class B Elden Mk8, ahead of 2019 champion Rick Morris’s Royale RP21.

The session was interrupted by a red flag after a collision at the Hairpin between the Alexis of Robin Haslam and the Van Diemen RF78 of Ben Hadfield. This has left several drivers with only a few laps under their belts.

Historic Formula Ford 2000 has a massive entry and two heats will be held later today. Benn Simms was the quickest from two qualifying sessions in his Reynard SF77, ahead of Andrew Park, who topped the second qualifying session in a Reynard SF81. His fellow SF81 driver Graham Fennymore was third quickest and these three were the only ones to go under the 1:31 mark. Murray Shepherd, the sole Classic FF2000 entry in Tony Hancock’s Van Diemen RF82, was fifth in the first session.

Jackson was predictably the quickest of the Historic FF1600 drivers, but again, he was kept relatively honest by his rivals this time and only did three laps. In the absence of Linton Stutely, whose Royale RP3 is still being repaired after its Silverstone shunt, Samuel Harrison qualified second. Harrison, who ran well at this circuit last year, will be looking to make up for the disappointment of losing out due to a crash with Mike Gardner.

Horatio Fitz-Simon, driving for Classic Team Merlyn, was another driver who only got three laps in, but they were good for third on the grid. Brian Morris (Lola T202) and Danny Stanzl’s Elden are up next, with Matt Wrigley’s Merlyn just a thousandth of a second slower than Stanzl.

Full qualifying results at TSL Timing

Image copyright Shaws Motorsport

Stanzl’s spare car

Before the rules changed, it used to be fairly common for Formula 1 drivers to jump into a spare car when theirs was damaged in practice. It isn’t such a common occurrence in Historic Formula Ford.

Championship regular Kevin Stanzl had a nightmare qualifying for the Silverstone International Trophy; his Merlyn Mk20 had an engine blow-up, breaking a crank before he even completed a lap.

This could easily be the end of his weekend, but Stanzl took a chance on fetching another car he had at home.

The Crossle 16F had been in the garage since last year’s Oulton Park races and was far from ready to run. It was also in Woking.

“It was an hour and half drive, then get the car prepped, get the ratios changed, set it up,” explained Stanzl.

This was all done in less than a day and he was back at Silverstone late on Saturday evening.

“The gearing needed doing, the brakes needed sorting out, the wheels, tyres, getting it off its stand, check through it quickly, and we’re here.

“It was a bit of work! Then got it in the van, got back here and then begged, and borrowed to get out and do my practice laps.”

The car was now ready for Race 2, but qualifying was long gone. Luckily, a way was found for Stanzl to get on the grid.

“They let me out for two laps, then the third lap was the green flag lap, so then I could race.”

Stanzl came from the back of the grid to finish 22nd in Race 2.

Image by Dan Bichener

Round-up: Classic regulars star at Mallory and Shepherd wins again

With no Classic race at this weekend’s HSCC Silverstone International Trophy, a few regulars decided to try their luck in the BRSCC Northern series.

Rick Morris, who has been vocal in his disappointment over the Silverstone decision, put his Royale RP29 in second position on the grid, out-qualifying a series of newer cars, but it was his Don Hardman Racing team-mate Stuart Kestenbaum (Van Diemen RF79) who took the lead from fourth. A lengthy yellow flag period followed while Chris Hodgen’s 1994 Swift and Edwin Hannah’s Reynard FF84 were cleared up, and combined with Mallory’s compact layout, this meant that there was no room for hesitation at the restart. Kestenbaum also had a gearbox problem to contend with and dropped down the order, finishing seventh. Morris was ultimately unable to keep on the tail of Nigel Dolan’s Van Diemen JL012K, but he held on to second ahead of Paul Mason’s Swift.

Morris was fifth in the second race, ahead of Dolan this time but a fair way back from the podium finishers, led by winner George McDonald in a Swift SC92F. Kestenbaum did not complete a lap due to continuing problems.

HSCC Classic regular Alan Fincham (Van Diemen RF80) also came along and was tenth in the first race. Ian Fernihough’s Titan Mk6 was the other Vintage-age car present.

Back at Silverstone, Murray Shepherd showed his class once more in Classic FF2000, winning both races in a Van Diemen RF82 and running among the Formula 3 machinery that shares the grid. He was seventh overall in the first race, ahead of Greg Robertson (Reynard SF79) in tenth and Jon Finch in a similar car, who was 12th.

Shepherd was fourth in the second race, with only three F3 cars in front of him, giving himself an early birthday present of another FF2000 win. eighth-placed Stephen Barlow, driving a similar car, was second, with Andrew Smith’s Royale RP27 just behind in third, ninth overall.

Full results available at TSL Timing

Jackson wins as Mitchell makes his podium comeback

Cam Jackson has won the second HSCC Historic Formula Ford race in dominant style, but Ben Mitchell was a worthy runner-up on his return to the series.

The sight of Jackson’s black Winkelmann screaming away into the distance is now a familiar one and the double champion still won despite easing off with sub-optimal tyres.

Jackson may have been eight seconds ahead of Mitchell’s Merlyn Mk20, but Mitchell won his own battle against the similar Merlyn of Horatio Fitz-Simon fair and square. Mitchell, who had started from fifth after a first-race spin, quickly made his way to the front of the main pack, passing Callum Grant’s Merlyn and Linton Stutely’s Royale RP3. A confident Fitz-Simon sneaked past repeatedly and even held second place going into the final lap, but Mitchell took ruthless advantage of a small mistake to overcome his younger rival by a tenth of a second.

Close finishes were a theme in this race. Fourth-placed Dominik Jackson (Lotus 59) was granted his spot by just a single thousandth of a second ahead of Callum Grant’s Merlyn. The pair had been scrapping closely for much of the race and it could have gone either way on the last lap. Grant, who was running on used tyres, got a fierce start and challenged Cam Jackson for the first lap, but he was unable to match Jackson’s pace. He was not helped much by his proximity to an accident that dumped Stutely out of the race on lap 3. Stutely’s Royale had been down on power out of the corners and dropped a few places, but Samuel Harrison’s over-enthusiasm into Club spun Stutely off and into retirement with a bent steering rack. Dominik Jackson and Grant, who were in the pack, escaped unscathed but Harrison’s Elden had a crooked nosecone and he dropped down the order. He was able to carry on and finish 15th.

Another big fight was raging just behind. Will Nuthall came out on top from a four-way tussle with Danny Stanzl (Elden Mk8), Matt Wrigley’s Merlyn and Brian Morris in the Lola T202. Nuthall’s Jamun led over the line but all four had had their turn in front. Stanzl looked to have the advantage, but Nuthall’s patience played off and Stanzl ended up at the back of the group in ninth, behind Wrigley and Morris, who claimed the Over 50s win.

Ross Drybrough was tenth in his Merlyn and second Over 50 driver. He was just ahead of Max Bartell in Drybrough’s March 709. Bartell had retired from Race 1 with a sheared gear and had started right at the back.

Sam Mitchell was hoping to challenge in his Merlyn, but a crack in the gearbox housing meant he had to withdraw. Simon Toyne’s Lola T200 was also missing from the grid.

Full results at TSL Timing

Images copyright Dan Bichener

Jackson wins the race but Grant wins the slipstreaming battle

Cam Jackson took another runaway win at the Silverstone International Trophy, but the biggest on-track battle was for second and third.

Callum Grant steered his orange Merlyn Mk20 to second place on the final lap after winning an exciting slipstreaming contest with Classic Team Merlyn’s Horatio Fitz-Simon and Linton Stutely (Royale RP3).

Ben Mitchell, driving another Merlyn, had looked like the winner of this particular skirmish and almost challenged Jackson at the start, passing Stutely for second and building up a gap, but he was caught by the chasing group and then dropped right to the back of it by a last-lap spin. He recovered to take fifth, just in front of brother Sam in the Merlyn he shares with his father, Westie.

Fitz-Simon, who had been hoping for rain, proved impressive on the drying, warming track, passing first Grant, then Stutely, with whom he vied for the lead of the chasing pack. Grant quickly got involved and turned it into a three-way contest, before Mitchell was caught and made it four. Grant made the most of the International circuit’s slipstreaming possibilities and held second place over the line, four-tenths ahead of Fitz-Simon and with Stutely a little further back, having had to avoid a rotating Mitchell.

Dominik Jackson had started from fourth but dropped back fairly quickly. He lost ground to a recovering Sam Mitchell and had some good scraps with the likes of Will Nuthall (Jamun T2) and Samuel Harrison (Elden Mk8). Harrison, free of the oil line problems that affected his qualifying, was seventh, with a combative Danny Stanzl in another Elden behind, having overhauled Jackson, who was ninth. Nuthall dropped to 12th, behind the Lolas of Simon Toyne and Brian Morris.

Morris won the Over 50 honours with his 11th place. Class leader Ross Drybrough did not have the same pace as in qualifying and his Merlyn Mk20 took him to 15th. Matt Wrigley (Merlyn Mk11A/20) was another driver who found it hard going. He admitted that his car’s rear end felt twitchy and he had already had a scare with a master cylinder during qualifying.

It was a race mercifully free of incident, apart from Max Bartell retiring the March 709 early on as it was “making a strange noise”.

Full results from TSL Timing

Jackson seconds ahead at Silverstone

Cam Jackson has qualified on pole for Saturday’s Historic Formula Ford more than two seconds ahead of anyone else.

Winkelmann driver and multi-champion Jackson set his time fairly early on in the session, before pockets of traffic slowed his rivals down.

Linton Stutely will line up second in his green-and-white Royale RP3. Stutely’s times were in the lower reaches of the top five for much of the 20-minute quali, but he got himself clear of Horatio Fitz-Simon’s Merlyn Mk20 towards the end and leapfrogged Fitz-Simon, who will start fifth, and several others. Once Fitz-Simon was behind Stutely he had some trouble getting through traffic and couldn’t regain his place. This was the case for several drivers after Samuel Harrison’s Elden Mk8 ruptured a line and dropped oil on the back of the track.

Returning driver Ben Mitchell was third quickest, driving the Merlyn Mk20 that almost took him to the 2018 title. He was relatively consistent and will look to challenge the front-runners. Brother Sam, in the Mitchell family Mk20, could only manage 17th due to some engine trouble and will be hoping to charge through the pack.

Dominik Jackson, part of another sibling duo with Cam Jackson, was fourth, driving a Lotus 59, ahead of Fitz-Simon and Callum Grant, who maintained steady pace for sixth spot on the grid.

Eighth-placed Ross Drybrough (Merlyn Mk20) leads the Over 50 charge, some way behind Matt Wrigley’s Merlyn Mk11A/20. Drybrough’s other car, the March 709 previously driven by Cam Jackson, will start tenth in the hands of Max Bartell. Another returning driver, Will Nuthall, was ninth in a Jamun T2.

Full qualifying results at TSL Timing

Image by Dan Bichener

Huge Historic grid expected for Silverstone

The HSCC Historic Formula Ford championship will field an impressive grid of almost 40 cars for the Silverstone International Trophy.

The provisional entry list, released earlier today, has 39 cars on it, including early championship front-runners Cam Jackson (Winkelmann) and Linton Stutely (Royale RP3). Tom MacArthur, who was in the mix at Snetterton, is not down to race, but Callum Grant is going to be out in his Merlyn Mk20 and will be able to renew his rivalry with 2018 championship contender Ben Mitchell, also in a Merlyn for the first time since the 2020 Walter Hayes Trophy.

The exhaust troubles that put Sam Mitchell out of the running at Snetterton appear to have been dealt with and he will go up against his brother for the first time in several seasons, driving the family Merlyn.

A notable new face on the grid is BTCC racer and team owner Shaun Hollamby, who has owned his Jamun T3 for a while now and is set to race it in anger on the International circuit.

Among the familiar returning names is former championsip chairman Dick Dixon, whose yellow Lotus 61 has been absent for a while.

On-track action starts with qualifying at 9am on Saturday 22nd May. Race 1 is scheduled for 12:45.