Fennymore shuts down Harrison challenge

Graham Fennymore won the final Historic Formula Ford 2000 race of the year narrowly from newcomer Samuel Harrison.

Champion Fennymore got a great restart after a safety car period, his Reynard SF81 having trailed Harrison’s 1979 Reynard for much of the shortened race, but nipped ahead just before the stoppage. The pair were rarely separated by much and Harrison’s textbook inside-outside move at Brooklands mid-race was perfect.

A gear shift problem prevented Harrison from fighting back as strongly as he might have done, as his car gradually became stuck in fourth. He did regain the lead when Fennymore went wide and looked as if he would hold it, but the sticking gear was enough of a weakness for Fennymore to pounce on the last lap.

Third place went to Marc Mercer, whose SF79 was actually very close to Harrison’s. He briefly passed Harrison at the restart and retook the place after Harrison passed him back, but he could not hold him off a second time. He had eked out a decent lead over Ben Glasswell in his SF77 and even had a quick go at Fennymore on the first lap, but third was the best he could do. Glasswell was some way back and was more busy with defending against Ian Pearson, the first Royale finisher in fourth place.

Jordan Harrison rose from an ignominous pitlane start to sixth place in his Lola T580. The race had been red-flagged on the first lap after Richard Coleman’s SF79 dumped the entire contents of its oil catch tank on the track, with Harrison and Adrian Reynard’s SF79 chief among the casualties. Harrison’s Lola only incurred some slight nosecone damage and he was able to mount a recovery drive. Reynard’s car looked more seriously broken, but it was a quick fix and he also started from the pits, finishing 19th.

Neither Tony Hancock (Delta T81) not James Thompson (SF79) gave Harrison an easy time passing them. Hancock had also been caught out by the oil, but didn’t lose many places and finished seventh. Thompson was eighth. Ninth-placed Stephen Glasswell’s SF79 also slid, but he was able to restart without a problem. He was just ahead of the SF79 of Andrew Storer in tenth.

Another Royale, driven by Nathaniel Cooper, was 11th after a steady race. Brian Morris’s SF79 was a little further back in 12th, followed closely by Jonathan Hair’s 1978 Reynard.

Full results at TSL Timing

Grant signs off with a win

Callum Grant was the final HSCC Historic Formula Ford winner of the year, carrying on his season-ling rivalry with Benn Simms and continuing his winning streak.

Grant’s orange Merlyn Mk20 and Simms’s white Jomo were together for the entire twenty minutes, using one another’s slipstream and swapping the lead almost every lap. A mistake by Simms on the penultimate lap, where he went wide, was just enough to give Grant the advantage he needed, although Simms did a good job at closing the gap, finishing just a couple of tenths behind Grant on the line. This was especially impressive given that there were yellow flags at the back of the track for the last five laps: Brian Morris (Lola T200) and Chris Willoughby (Merlyn Mk20) had taken each other off.

If the lead battle was close, then the scrap over third place was even closer. By the end, there were six cars in the chasing group, separated by less than a second. Matt Wrigley won their contest in his Merlyn Mk11A/20 after fending off attacks from Spencer Shinner’s and Sam Mitchell’s Merlyns. Shinner, who showed a great deal of bravery in such a big group, was fourth, having led the line several times. Mitchell was sixth; he had been a good contender for third in the earlier stages of the race but was passed by Cormac Flanagan’s Alexis in the closing laps. Flanagan had dropped off the back of the group briefly early on but managed to get back in the tow and launch a last-ditch attack which paid off.

Having been closer to the front early on, Titan driver Chris Porritt sat back a little for much of the race before a late push secured him seventh place, very close behind Mitchell. In turn, Ross Drybrough’s Merlyn was on Porritt’s tail, having bothered him and Flanagan for most of the race. The group was completed by the Merlyn Mk20 of Ollie Lewis, a newcomer who kept pace admirably.

Tenth place went to Christian Goller in a Lola, but some way back. He had spent most of the race on his own.

Further back, behind 11th-placed Mark Wilkes (Merlyn Mk20S) and Paul Unsworth’s Lola, there was another three-way scramble for position. David Squire prevailed in his Hawke, but Nigel Adams (Lotus 61) and the Merlyn of Damian Samuel-Camps were extremely close in 13th and 14th.

Image by Anne Boddez

Full results at TSL Timing

Ahrens wins three-way thriller

Joe Ahrens emerged as the victor in the first SDC Classic Formula Ford race of the weekend, fending off champion Ben Tinkler and Donington winner Jake Shortland.

Ahrens, driving the Enigma Motorsport Royale RP26, also had Chris Porritt and his Titan to deal with early on, with Simon Toyne’s Lola also in contention.

The final contest of the race was between Ahrens and the Lola T440 driven by Shortland. The pair were level going into Brooklands and avoided touching by the slightest of margins, leaving Ahrens to get in front and remain there, still by a very small edge by the time the chequered flag came out.

Tinkler, in his red Van Diemen RF80, was third, still only about half a second behind the leader. He had challenged strongly and taken the lead on a number of occasions, keeping pace with Ahrens easily. He also had to deal with the attentions of Porritt, who also led briefly and looked like he was going to finish on the podium.

Behind him, Porritt had to keep an eye on Toyne. In the opening laps, Toyne’s orange car got ahead of Porritt’s blue one and even pushed Tinkler for second. As Shortland advanced up the order from tenth, he was displaced for a while, but he was back with Porritt by the end. He was fifth.

Sixth place went to Callum Grant, driving Simon Langman’s Van Diemen RF80. Grant overcame a slow qualifying and an unpromising 24th place start to finish strongly, albeit some way behind Toyne. He was able to pass James Rigby’s Royale and Stuart Kestenbaum’s Van Diemen, leaving the pair to their own rivalry. Kestenbaum was seventh and Rigby eighth.

Rigby in particular had benefited from the retirement of James Hadfield, in a Hawke DL2B. They had swapped places quite intensely, but both lost touch with the leaders when yellow flags came out mid-race. Hadfield’s efforts were in vain, however, as his car’s engine blew up, causing an ominous hole in the block.

The yellow flags were probably for Andrew Smith’s stricken Van Diemen FA73, which had badly bent suspension after being caught by another car during a spin.

In only his second ever race meeting, Cal Bennett was ninth in his RF80, ahead of Philip Senior, who had a first-lap off in his Royale RP24 and did well to come back to the top ten. Paul Britten had a solid race in his PRS 81F to finish 11th, very close behind Senior and Bennett. A little further back, James Fettiplace was 12th in his ex-Mark Armstrong Van Diemen.

Neither Rick Morris (Royale RP29) or Andy Gosling (Van Diemen RF81) was a finisher due to colliding with each other on the first lap. The race was red-flagged and a full restart held.

Full results at TSL Timing

Harrison flies on Formula Ford 2000 debut

Samuel Harrison was the surprise winner of the first Historic Formula Ford 2000 race of the weekend, taking a borrowed Reynard SF79 to a commanding win over champion Graham Fennymore.

Classic Formula 3 champion Harrison was lent the car by Adrian Reynard and finished almost five seconds ahead of Fennymore. After a tense first few laps where he almost collided with a spinning Lola T580 driven by Jordan Harrison, he quickly pulled out a lead and was never troubled further.

Fennymore started well as expected, but Ollie Roberts was on his tail in his SF79. Roberts attacked on the second lap and took the lead, but contact at Becketts left Fennymore on the grass with a bent wishbone and Roberts in retirement. Fennymore recovered quickly, but Harrison was already several seconds ahead.

Third place went to Marc Mercer’s SF79, a little way back. He had qualified seventh and been made to work hard by both Richard Coleman (SF79) and Ben Glasswell in an SF77 towards the end. He also had a tussle with Adrian Reynard’s SF79 on the way up the grid, outbraking him into Brooklands.

Coleman and Glasswell then had an entertaining battle of their own, which went the way of Glasswell, with Coleman in fifth. Reynard was sixth. He had been threatened by a recovering Harrison, who had made his way from the back of the queue after his spin, but Harrison was running out of fuel and dropped to 11th. Tony Hancock was the first Delta finisher in seventh after a steady run where he was often on his own. His was the last car to be passed by Jordan Harrison.

The first Royale was next, driven by Ian Pearson. He had been trying to pass Hancock but missed by a tenth of a second. Stephen Glasswell in turn was very close behind him in ninth. The top ten was completed by James Thompson’s SF79, which was just ahead of the ailing Harrison. Nathaniel Cooper (Royale RP27) was just behind Harrison in 12th. Harrison was the Class B winner.

Grant wins in competitive thriller

Callum Grant has won the penultimate Historic Formula Ford race of the year from his season-long rival, Benn Simms.

Grant, in a Merlyn Mk20, and Jomo driver Simms were in a class of their own at the front, trading the lead with the smallest of margins until the finish line, when Grant prevailed by just 0.084 seconds. He had relied on his race-long trick of allowing Simms inside at Brooklands and sweeping ahead at Woodcote, although Simms floored the Jomo on the final straight and it could have gone either way.

Over 50 winner Chris Porritt was third, at the head of an eight-car chasing group that provided most of the action. Porritt, in his Titan which he is also racing in the Classic championship, just overcame Simon Toyne’s Lola, having been behind Toyne on the previous lap. He had spent much of the race in a pack with Toyne, Sam Mitchell (Merlyn Mk20), Ross Drybrough and Spencer Shinner (also Merlyn). Toyne was fourth, having made his way stealthily up the grid in the early laps after an indifferent qualifying session. Mitchell had run in third place for several laps but lost out in a slipstreaming contest and then lost ground towards the end. He was fifth.

Shinner also dropped back a little from the front group, but he had done well to recover from a first-lap off which left him right at the back. Drybrough didn’t make it easy for him to pass and the two traded positions for a while, but Shinner then consolidated sixth place, with Drybrough seventh.

Matt Wrigley was eighth in his Merlyn. He had figured much more strongly in the chasing pack until losing third gear and lacking speed on the straights. He also didn’t get the best restart after a one-lap safety car period for the recovery of George Ditchfield’s Elden. Still, he came back from tenth to eighth in the closing laps.

Cormac Flanagan was another driver who had been further forward in the chasing group than his final position of ninth suggested. He nosed his Alexis Mk14 past Porritt’s car at the start and also enjoyed scrapping with Shinner. Ollie Lewis was a very close tenth in his Merlyn Mk20.

Ollie Lewis (Merlyn Mk20) had been at the tail of the chasing group but had to retire late on. His place was taken by Brian Morris’s Lola. Morris was eleventh, ahead of Christian Goller’s similar Lola, which had an early off-track excursion and spent many laps at the back.

Get set: Silverstone

All Formula Ford qualifying for the final HSCC meeting of the year has taken place and racing will begin shortly.

The SDC Classic Formula Ford championship is the latest grid in, with Joe Ahrens’s Royale RP26 bagging the pole position late in the session. However, a close set of opening laps is promised, as the top nine cars are separated by less than a second and 2023 champion Ben Tinkler, in his Van Diemen RF80, was only 0.048 seconds slower than Ahrens. Rick Morris (Royale RP29) will line up third, only two tenths slower, with the Van Diemen RF81 of Andy Gosling just over a tenth further back. A similar time interval separates him from Chris Porritt’s Class B Titan. He is followed by another Class B car, the Lola of Simon Toyne. Toyne has won this year and will be a fast starter.

James Rigby (Royale RP26) starts seventh, despite a couple of laps being erased for track limits violation. He is only 0.038s ahead of eighth-plpaced Stuart Kestenbaum in his Van Diemen RF81. Philip Senior (Royale RP24) and Jake Shortland’s Lola complete the top ten. Shortland is another likely fast starter.

Guest entry Callum Grant in a Van Diemen RF80 struggled with his car and could only manage 24th. Ollie Chapman returns in his Lola after his Croft off and will start in 18th place.

It is no surprise that Graham Fennymore will start at the front for Historic Formula Ford 2000, but his Reynard SF81 came under pressure from Jordan Harrison’s Lola at the end of the session. Harrison was less than a second slower. Harrison’s nearest rival Ollie Roberts (Reynard SF79) will start third. He was another driver who posted his fastest lap right at the end of qualifying.

Another Harrison joins the grid and will start in fourth. Classic Formula 3 champion Samuel Harrison is trying out Adrian Reynard’s SF79, a sister car to his own. This means there are two cars with Canada Dry livery on-track, with Reynard himself starting eighth.

Ben Glasswell’s 1977 Reynard lines up fifth. He just kept ahead of Richard Coleman’s SF79, which was only 0.009 seconds slower. Marc Mercer, in another SF79, will be looking to improve on seventh place and get clsoer to Fennymore.

The first Royale car is driven by ninth-placed Ian Pearson, ahead of Graham Ridgway’s SF78. Andy Lancaster’s Hawke is the next Class B car after Harrison and will start 16th.

The Historic Formula Ford grid took some time to form its final shape, with Benn Simms’s Jomo at the top. Second-placed Callum Grant (Merlyn Mk20) came within two-tenths of Simms in the final minutes, but could not overahul him.

Spencer Shinner lines up third in his Merlyn Mk20/50. He led the times for a good chunk of the session and was only a couple of hundredths slower than Grant, hinting at an exciting race at the front to come. Ross Drybrough, in his Merlyn this time, also topped the timesheets early on and will start from fourth place. He is the Over 50 polesitter.

Matt Wrigley (Merlyn Mk11A/20) starts fifth and is also likely to be involved in the lead battle. Porritt’s Titan is sixth, closely pursued by Cormac Flanagan in his Alexis Mk14. A trio of Merlyn Mk20s follow, driven by Ollie Lewis, Sam Mitchell and Jonathan Speak respectively.

Brian Morris returns to the championship in another Lola, following his dramatic accident at Brands Hatch which claimed his other car. He will start 12th, leading two other Lolas driven by Toyne and Christian Goller. They are behind 11th-placed Mark Wilkes in a Merlyn.

The Final showdown

The HSCC season ends this weekend and all three Formula Ford categories are expecting big grids. The champions have already been decided, but bragging rights are still up for grabs.

In Historic Formula Ford, Benn Simms will be renewing his season-long rivalry with 2023 champion Callum Grant and hoping to place his Jomo ahead of Grant’s Merlyn. Either are capable of taking the win, and don’t rule out fellow Merlyn driver Matt Wrigley, either. Wrigley scored his first victory early in the year and should be with the leaders. Sam Mitchell is making another appearance in the Wayne Poole Merlyn Mk20 and could also make his mark at the front, alongside the rapidly improving Spencer Shinner in another Merlyn.

Spare a thought for Christian Goller, however. The Lola driver joined the grid this year with some help from Chris Porritt, who lent him a car His race preparations will be a little frustrating this time.

“I live in the village, so it’s literally my local,” explains Goller.

This sounds like an ideal situation, but it isn’t.

“It’s actually a pain, because to load it all up for a one-mile drive seems really pointless!”

It was suggested that he try to drive the Lola to the track under cover of darkness.

“No lights,” he protested. “I’d have to have a pace car to light the way!”

Formula Ford 2000 champion Graham Fennymore will once more be the man to beat in his Reynard SF81, but his Snetterton nemesis Marc Mercer will be racing his SF79 and will be keen for another win.

Jordan Harrison has had a frustrating debut season in his Lola T580 and a win at Silverstone would go some way to easing this. He is also very quick around the National circuit, as he has proved in Classic Formula Ford. However, Ollie Roberts is also smarting from a bad weekend at Croft, so his SF79 will be close at hand near the front.

The most competitive Royale on the grid this year belongs to Ian Pearson and he is racing this weekend, plus Richard Coleman in an SF79, meaning the front of the pack is likely to be crowded.

Classic Formula Ford is set for one of its biggest grids of the year, with 29 cars entered. The usual front-runners will be doing battle, with champion Ben Tinkler (Van Diemen RF80) taking on Joe Ahrens in the Engima Royale RP26. Ahrens has suffered from multiple car problems this year and will want to return to the winning form he showed at Snetterton. Jake Shortland was another first-time winner this year and will be looking for another in his Lola T440.

With them will be multiple champion Rick Morris (Royale RP29), plus Class B leader Chris Porritt in his Titan. Simon Toyne, also running in Class B in his Lola, makes a return and could challenge for overall wins.

As long as Ollie Chapman’s Lola has been repaired since its off at Croft, he may well be in the mix, alongside Van Diemen RF81 driver Andy Gosling.

A couple of new car and driver combinations stand out. Dominic Sheppard debuted his Merlyn Mk20 at Sywell a couple of weekends ago and is set to have his first race n the car. Callum Grant is trying out a Van Diemen RF80 belonging to Simon Langman. The car is an unknown quantity but Grant is always quick.

Racing another rarity: the Hawke Formula Ford 2000

Hawke Formula Ford 1600 cars are a relatively common sight, but a 2000cc Hawke DL16 is a rarity.

Historic Formula Ford 2000 racer Andrew Lancaster owns what is probably the only Hawke FF2000 still running today.

The car made its debut under Lancaster’s ownership at the start of this season at Snetterton.

“We bought it a few years back, rebuilt it over the last two or three years, then first time out this year,” explains Lancaster.

He and his father are no stranger to FF2000 or rare cars, having competed in the URS Classic series previously.

“A Pilbeam, another oddball car,” he says of his URS championship machine. “Another car that did a couple of seasons of Formula Ford 2000, then was quickly changed to a hillclimb car. Then we bought it and it was converted back.”

Despite its rarity, the car was successful in-period, as was its predecessor, the DL14, which took Tiff Needell to two victories in the 1975 British championship.

“It nearly won the championship in ’77 with Philip Bullman,” says Lancaster of his car. “There’s some story that he was going to win the championship, but lost it because of a second engine at the end of the year not being very good, letting go or something, I think. I think he lost it in the last round, that’s the story.”

Bullman was indeed beaten in the final round by Jeremy Rossiter, driving a Reynard SF77. South African Rad Dougall was the British champion in a Royale RP25.

“They were successful in ’76 and ’77, then they sort of died away after that. There’s a couple of chassis [the DL20 was one] they built after that in ’78, but they didn’t really build more after that.”

Having spent his 2023 part-season “pestering Ant Denham”, Lancaster is currently fourth in class B, with two class wins.

(Photo courtesy of Andrew Lancaster)

Flying Formula Fords

This weekend, Vintage Formula Ford made a visit to Sywell Aerodrome for the Sywell Classic Festival, also known as Pistons and Props.

There was no official timing or points on offer, but visitors got to enjoy the sight of Formula Fords going head-to-head with Formula 5000s, an Indycar, an endurance rallying Ford Escort and even a Porsche 962.

HSCC Historic Formula Ford racewinner Matt Wrigley was in action in a recently-acquired Lotus 59, in yellow works team livery. Cars ran in pairs along the concrete runway at the airfield and Wrigley upheld Formula Ford honours against fierce opposition, including a Williams FW07 and a Lister-Jaguar Knobbly driven by his father, Mike.

Among his closer rivals was a Merlyn Mk20 driven by Dominic Sheppard. This car will be out at the Silverstone Finals in October, running in the SDC Classic series as its inboard brakes make it ineligible for the Historic championship. Sheppard had a breakdown on his final run but otherwise ran well.

He was being run by Neil Fowler, who was sharing the ex-Hannelore Werner Eifelland March 722 with Jack Butterworth.

Another Formula Ford in action was Nigel Tye’s Jamun M89 from 1989. Ed Thurston, who has driven it at the Walter Hayes Trophy, finally out-did his father Jerry, the event’s commentator, by jumping in one of the Formula 5000 cars.

A rare Osella Formula Ford 2000 also made an appearance.

With the added attraction of aerobatics, WWI aircraft, dragsters and motorcycles, Sywell is a small but hugely enjoyable event. As there is no official timing, crews are able to try out setups, and the chance to see single-seaters of all sizes going head-to-head is unique.

Like mum like son: meet Cal Bennett

Another new driver taking his first steps in the world of cars chose Formula Ford for his debut. Cal Bennett’s first race was at Croft, in Classic Formula Ford.

Bennett has never even really done any karting so was really jumping in at the deep end, but Formula Ford runs in his family.

“This is my mum’s Formula Ford,” he says of his Van Diemen RF80. “Back in period, she used to race, then it was sat in the truck for 30 years. So over Corona, I decided to rebuild it.”

Bennett’s mother raced as Sheelagh Todd until 1994 and he never saw her compete, as she stopped almost ten years before he was born in 2003.

Todd normally raced in Ireland in events organised by the 500MC, but Bennett now carries the Welsh dragon on the car, which has also been repainted dark blue from its original purple.

His first race was not straightforward.

“I just got a bit late on the brakes going into a corner, locked up into another driver, but he carried on.

“We needed a new steering arm, but we had spares, so that was fine. Just slightly bent it, which was a pain.”

His father builds racing cars for a living, so there was plenty of expertise to call upon. The car was sorted and finished Race 2 in 16th place.

Bennett will be back in action at the Silverstone Finals in October and his mum might even be there to see her old car on track.