Jake Shortland takes debut win – just!

Jake Shortland has won his first SDC Classic Formula Ford race after a nail-biting three-lap showdown with Rick Morris.

Shortland, driving his unusual Lola T440, was always part of the leading group but got stronger as the race progressed and some of the other leaders struggled, turning the contest for first place into a two-car battle between himself and Morris’s Royale RP29. They were neck and neck for the last three laps or so and it looked like Morris would prevail, but Shortland retook the lead on the final lap and held it until the end.

It turned out that he needn’t have pushed quite so hard, as a five-second track limits penalty negated Morris’s place in the photo finish. He still remained ahead of third-placed Andy Gosling and his Van Diemen RF79; Gosling ‘s podium was the result of determination and canny positioning. He was able to take advantage of brake problems affecting fourth-placed Mike Gardner (Crossle 32F), plus the retirements of Ben Tinkler’s Van Diemen RF80 and Joe Ahrens’s Royale RP26. Tinkler was squeezed off the track at the chicane and lost a nosecone and Ahrens suffered a mysterious engine problem that sapped its power and then shut it down completely.

Gardner had led the race for a time until his rear brakes gave out. He too lost a nosecone dicing with Tinkler. He had taken the lead from Morris mid-race but was re-passed by him and Shortland.

Class B driver Chris Porritt was fifth in his Titan, having come very close to passing Gardner on the final lap. There was then a gap to Stuart Kestenbaum in his Van Diemen RF81. He had done well to recover from a scary coming-together with Paul Unsworth’s Lola, which was launched over his car’s wheels. Unsworth did not finish. Mark Harrison (Lola T540E) joined him on the DNF list after a spin, having had a skirmish with Kestenbaum earlier. That list included Andrew Smith’s early Van Diemen, which had a puncture, and Tim Bennett’s Hawke.

James Rigby had an uneventful race in seventh, driving another RP26. Simon Clews was eighth in his RP24, having fended off Calvin Bainbridge’s Lola. Bainbridge was ninth and Ben Hadfield tenth in his red Van Diemen.

Full results at TSL Timing

Grant thwarts Enigma pole position double

Callum Grant’s late spurt of speed prevented both Enigma Motorsport drivers from picking up pole position for both HSCC Formula Ford championships at Donington today.

The team’s protege Joe Ahrens had already claimed the SDC Classic Formula Ford pole, driving a Royale RP26 with new, lighter bodywork

T.he Classic top four is separated by less than a tenth of a second, with Ben Tinkler’s Van Diemen RF80 just 0.85s slower than Ahrens and Rick Morris’s Royale RP29 just 0.006s further back. Mike Gardner, who has been struggling with his Crossle 32F this season, set an excellent time for fourth, only 0.002s slower than Morris. An exciting first corner is likely.

Jake Shortland could not crack the 1m17 barrier in his Lola T440 but was still good enough for fifth. He was followed by the later Lola T540E of Mark Harrison in sixth, with Stuart Kestenbaum very close behind in seventh place, driving his Van Diemen RF81. The 1979 Van Diemen driven by Andy Gosling will start eighth, despite breaking an oil cooler.

James Fettiplace had problems of a different kind in his RF80, with three of his laps being disallowed for track limits violations. He will start ninth, ahead of leading Class B driver Chris Porritt, in his new Titan Mk6.

Grant had come for tyres part-way through the Historic qualifying session, which had been dominated by Stutely in his Royale RP3. Stutely, thinking he had done enough, finished up after eight laps, but new tyres on Grant’s Merlyn Mk20 helped him to a last-gasp pole, beating Stutely by just under a tenth.

Snetterton winner Matt Wrigley also had a strong session in his Merlyn Mk11A/20 and will line up third, still only half a second behind Grant. The top six are separated by just under a second, with Silverstone winner Benn Simms fourth in his Jomo, Sam Mitchell (Merlyn Mk20) fifth and another Merlyn dirver, Spencer Shinner, sixth. Shinner and Simms also left it late to set their definitive lap times.

Will Nuthall will line up seventh in his Jamun T2 and will be chased by Chris Porritt’s Titan and Mark Wilkes in a Merlyn. Wilkes almost matched Porritt’s eighth-place time and will be challenging him for the Over 50 award.

Another Merlyn driven by Jonathan Speak complete the top ten, with Paul Unsworth’s Lola very close behind. A lively midfield tussle looks very likely.

Full results at TSL Timing

Superclassic double for Callum Grant

Double HSCC Historic Formula Ford champion Callum Grant has added two more wins to this year’s tally at Donington.

Grant was making a guest appearance in the BRSCC Northern and Superclassic Formula Ford championship, getting Roger Arnold’s Van Diemen RF91 ready for the Walter Hayes Trophy.

Grids were shared with the National Formula Ford championship, creating a big field with its share of drama. Race 1 was red-flagged shortly before its scheduled end as a National competitor had had an off. Grant had been comfortably the quickest on track from early on, but still had to see off Andrew Schofield’s Reynard FF89 and the 1990 Van Diemen of John Murphy to begin with.

Schofield retired late in Race 2 but Grant had found some more pace and was considerably ahead of Garath Buckingham’s Van Diemen RF88 and third-placed Murphy. His 1m40.485s fastest lap would have been quick enough to run in the top ten of the National class.

Arnold, the car’s owner, was also racing in one of the oldest car on the grid. He steered his Merlyn Mk20 to a 13th and 11th place overall, picking up a pair of class wins.

Full results at TSL Timing

Image courtesy of Nigel Grant

Simms fends off Reynard challenge to take another win

Benn Simms won the second Donington Formula Ford 2000 race comfortably, but he had to work for it and was challenged from a surprising quarter.

As expected, Simms’s Reynard SF77 and Graham Fennymore’s SF81 were vying for the lead off the line, but a stubborn refusal to brake first meant both went wide at Redgate, causing a major shuffle at the front.

Adrian Reynard found himself leading in his Reynard 79SF, with Fennymore second, followed by Andrew Park’s SF81 and then Simms. It did not take Simms long to deal with Park, then he got the better of Fennymore and only took a lap to reel in Reynard, who finished third. Credit ist still due to Reynard, who managed to pull out a lead until Simms bore down.

Fennymore also leapfrogged Reynard fairly quickly, but he could not quite get within passing range of Simms.

Park’s challenge evaporated on lap 13 with a broken carburettor. He had held third for some time, but was then passed by Reynard and dropped to seventh before pulling off at Redgate.

Greg Robertson was fourth in his SF79, pushing Reynard after making the most of a bunch situation with Andrew Storer’s SF79 and the Royale of Lee Bankhurst. He kept ahead of Bankhurst, who was on a mission after starting from the back due to his DNF yesterday. Bankhurst was fifth, having passed Storer on the penultimate lap. Storer held on for sixth, having not been quite sure who had gone past.

The Nomad of Tom Smith was another car making its way up the grid from the back. Smith ran out of fuel at the end of Race 1 but he made sure the tank was full for Race 2 and made steady progress up to seventh. This was the car’s first FF2000 race weekend for more than 40 years and Smith was happy to finish.

Eighth-placed Adrian Langridge (REynard SF78) lost out at the start and became Smith’s first overtake subject. He was safely ahead of Nathaniel Cooper’s Royale RP27 in ninth. Cooper, another non-finisher in Race 1, made some progress form the rear of the field.

Fraser Collins scored another tenth place in his Royale RP30, having won a little skirmish with Anthony Thompson’s SF79. He is still getting used to the car, but showed more speed this week. Thompson and Steve Farrell in another SF79 were only other cars on the lead lap.

Drew Cameron’s Royale RP27 lost an oil pump drive belt on the first lap and he had to retire to the pits. He had started from third spot.

Full results at TSL Timing

Morris wins Classic race as stewards get tough

Rick Morris, the 2019 Classic Formula Ford champion, has been awarded the win in Race 2 as the stewards got tough on track limits violations.

Morris, driving his black-and-red Royale RP29, was third on-track, having run as high as second in a tough chasing group behind Tom McArthur’s Hawke.

McArthur received a 45-second penalty for repeatedly cutting the track, dropping him from first to eighth. Henry Chart was also hit by a five-second track limits penalty, meaning his Van Diemen RF81 lost one place and was classified third, behind Jordan Harrison’s Lola T540E.

This was a disappointing conclusion to a race that was actually exciting and surprising. Morris put in one of his best performances of the season, steering through a group that included Chart, Richard Tarling’s Crossle, Harrison and Joe Ahrens, in a Van Diemen RF80.

McArthur carved out a lead early on when Chart’s car popped out of gear on the line and Tarling found himself boxed in somewhat. He soon disappeared down the road, leaving the rest of the group to scrap it out.

Tarling was the original fastest challenger and almost pulled out a lead, but a resurgent Chart and Harrison were soon pushing him hard, surrounding him at every opportunity. A collison with Harrison at Redgate meant that Tarling had to retire, leaving Morris, Chart and Harrison in contention. Chart looked to have the advantage and opened a gap, but it was a small one and his penalty cancelled it out. Harrison claimed second spot and Chart was third after penalties.

Ahrens had fallen off the back of their group a little on the final lap, but was safely ahead of the next group, led at the end by Andy Gosling in a Van Diemen RF79. Gosling had done a good job a repositioning himself at the front of the pack, fending off the attentions of Stuart Kestenbaum’s RF81 and the Royales of Peter Barrable and Philip Senior. Barrable lost some time on the final lap and lost touch, while Senior was able to capitalise and was sixth behind Gosling. Kestenbaum ended up in the gravel in the last-lap melee, having led the group. Barrable was seventh, ahead of McArthur on the timesheets.

Mark Harrison ended up being promoted to ninth in his Royale RP24 after Mike Gardner (Crossle 30F) also received a five-second penalty for track limits. Gardner had stopped on lap 3 and entered the pits, apparently to re-fasten his helmet strap. He had shown top-five pace but was behind after his pit visit.

Image copyright Andrew Ellis

Full results at TSL Timing

Grant claims the win in disputed second Donington race

Callum Grant has been declared the winner of the second Historic Formula Ford race of the weekend after post-race protests turned the podium upside down.

Grant, probably finishing his part-season in the championship this year, was fourth on-track but he was a contender for the win throughout, his orange Merlyn Mk20 leading the pack for a big chunk of the 20-minute race. He got a good start and was nipping at leader Samuel Harrison’s gearbox, but an audacious move around the outside at Redgate after a safety car restart sent him to the front of a four-car leading pack. Harrison tried the same move on McArthur on the next lap but could not catch Grant.

An aggressive last-lap move by Harrison’s Merlyn sent the group into disarray, allowing fourth-placed Jamie Vinall-Meyer to come through the middle and take the on-track win.

Vinall-Meyer, in Pete Alexander’s Jamun T3, had started at the back after a non-finish yesterday. He quickly made his way to the back of the leading group where he waited to seize his chance. However, it was not to be, as he was disqualified for ride-height non-compliance and exceeding track limits.

McArthur and Harrison, who came home in second and third after their last-lap close shave, were both penalised 45 seconds for repeatedly exceeding track limits and dropped to 14th and 13th place respectively.

This left Chris Porritt (Merlyn Mk20) as second-placed driver and winner of the Over 50 class. Again, this was no consolation prize, as he had done well to recover from going wide at McLeans early on and then steered clear of a multi-car incident which brought out the safety car. Cormac Flanagan spun his Alexis Mk14 and the midfield pack all tried to avoid him, with Rob Smith’s Merlyn Mk20 clipping Ted Pearson’s Mk11/17. Pearson, who had got a good start and been Porritt’s chief rival at the beginning, retired with a puncture and Smith was sent to the back of the pack, doing well to recover to fourth.

Ross Drybrough was third in his March 709, after having an enthusastic contest with Porritt. Scott Rawlinson was a strong fifth in his Merlyn Mk11, only slightly ahead of Paul Unsworth’s Lola, which had made good progress after the restart. Chris Stuart, in another Mk11, was not much further back in seventh.

Another Merlyn Mk20 driven by Chris Willoughby was eighth, with Mark Carter (Merlyn Mk20) and Matthew Sturmer’s Macon vying for the final places in the top ten. Carter just got the better of Sturmer.

David Squire’s Hawke and Rudolf Ernst’s Titan bridged the gap to the demoted Harrison and McArthur.

Full results at TSL Timing

(Image copyrigth Paul Allen)

High speed duel ends in Fennymore win

Graham Fennymore held off Benn Simms on the line in a delayed first Formula Ford 2000 race after the pair traded fastest laps.

Simms had put his Reynard SF77 on pole and did lead for the majority of the 17-lap race, but he was made to work for it by a charging Fennymore, before his SF81-driving rival took advantage of lurking backmarkers at McLeans and pulled in front on the penultimate lap. Simms had to make do with a fastest lap, having traded that honour with Fennymore. He tried his hardest to retake first place on the line, but Fennymore held firm.

Post-race, Simms was penalised 10 seconds for violating track limits, but it did not affect his finishing position.

Drew Cameron made steady progress to third from fifth in his Royale RP27, passing Lee Bankhurst’s RP30 and Andrew Park in his SF81 then using his superior straight-line speed to eke out a small lead. Bankhurst had initially held third and attacked Cameron once he passed, but a collision with a backmarker sent him back to the pits with the front-left corner of his car pointing the wrong way.

Adrian Reynard had a strong race to finish fourth in his own 79SF, having got round the Reynards of Andrew Storer and Adrian Langridge early on and then kept out of trouble, even attacking Cameron at a few points. Park was close behind on-track but his SF81 got tangled with a backmarker by the pit all and he lost time, then was penalised for exceeding track limits. He later admitted that his car was down on speed and was fifth. Tom Smith, driving the unique Nomad car, also lost a top-ten finish due to running out of fuel on the line, having finished sixth. This promoted Greg Robertson’s SF79 to sixth, having passed Storer on the final lap.

Langridge also got caught up in backmarkers and finished eighth, with Antony Thompson ninth in his 1979 Reynard. Fraser Collins fought his way out of a chasing pack to finish tenth, his first top-ten in his new Royale RP30.

Full results at TSL Timing

Tarling wins game of four-wheeled snakes and ladders

Richard Tarling has won a very up-and-down Classic Formula Ford race, taking the lead after a safety car period.

Tarling, driving Steve Deeks’s Crossle 25F after his Royale broke a gearbox mounting in testing, did not look like the winner at the start, getting left behind in a spray of water and wheelspin. However, his big lead at the end did not tell the full story either.

It was Henry Chart’s Van Diemen RF81 that had the initial pace and Tarling got the better of him after a slow safety car restart. Chart, having had a big lead neutralised, found himself too close to a rapidly slowing course car to get a fast take-off, allowing Tarling to pass him, taking Tom McArthur’s Hawke with him in a mob manoeuvre. Chart was then dropped further down the order by a spin.

It did not take too long for Tarling to leave McArthur behind, although he tried his hardest to retake the lead, even going round the outside of Tarling at the Old Hairpin at one point. He spun late on, dropped several places and recovered to fifth.

Chart took a more measured approach and progressed from sixth to second, waiting until Peter Barrable (Royale RP26) and Joe Ahrens’s Van Diemen RF80 had spins and moving forward. His last scalp was Jordan Harrison’s Lola T540E; Harrison was struggling to keep his car in a straight line and to maintain any speed coming out of corners and he was quite happy with third.

Rick Morris’s Royale RP29 was fourth, having held position quite strongly for most of the race. Barrable was some way behind in fifth, having run as high as third, with Ahrens behind.

Mike Gardner had a relatively quiet race in seventh place, his Crossle 30F proving too quick for Andy Gosling’s Van Diemen RF79 but not fast enough to keep up with the chasing group. Gosling was ninth.

Stuart Kestenbaum, in another RF81, was tenth, having won a personal contest with Philip Senior’s Royale RP21, another replacement car following a testing accident. Senior was also another spinner, one of many.

The safety car was triggered by Kevin Wernham’s yellow Royale RP24 becoming stuck in the gravel at Redgate. He was unable to continue.

Full results at TSL Timing

Harrison is the rain master

Samuel Harrison has won the first Historic Formula Ford race on a wet track, seeing off Callum Grant and then holding off a resurgent Tom McArthur.

Classic Team Merlyn driver Harrison was caught off the line by Grant’s Merlyn, who led out of Redgate on the first lap, while McArthur’s Titan got into a collision with Jamie Vinall-Meyer in the Jamun T3 and dropped back.

Vinall-Meyer retired and the safety car came out but Grant and Harrison continued to maintain a lead. Once the caution period was over, Harrison began to attack Grant. It took many attempts for him to get within passing distance, but he caught his rival and then passed him at Redgate towards the end of the race.

Grant decided to let Harrison go, having seen McArthur charging up behind him. He had an off at the Old Hairpin but got back on track before the fourth-placed Merlyn of Chris Porritt could catch him. McArthur made inroads into Harrison’s lead but never got within range.

Over 50 winner Porritt had a lonely, but safe race, having shaken off fifth-placed Cormac Flanagan in his Alexis. Flanagan ran as high as third early on and was one of the few drivers not to spin during the race.

Rob Smith was next his Merlyn Mk20, having won a scrap with Ted Pearson’s Mk11/17 and Ross Drybrough’s March. Pearson claimed seventh late on, with Drybrough eighth and Chris Stuart ninth in Merlyn Mk11A, having recovered some positions earlier.

Scott Rawlinson, in another Mk11, made his wasy from the back to 11th place, ahead of Harrison’s Classic Team Merlyn team-mate Mark Carter, who got a good start and was seventh for the first couple of laps, having avoided the first-lap chaos.

Full results at TSL Timing

Come fly with me: Donington qualifying roundup

The rain fell but racing carried on, just as aircraft kept taking off from the airport next door.

Historic Formula Ford opened proceedings, with Classic Team Merlyn driver Samuel Harrison setting a huge 1:27.433s pole lap on his final turn around the circuit. Callum Grant, in another Merlyn, also saved his best for last and will start second, just ahead of Tom McArthur’s Titan, which had been holding second spot. Jamie Vinall Meyer was the only other driver to go under the 1:30 mark and will start from fourth in his Jamun T3.

Cormac Flanagan also picked up the pace towards the end of qualifying and will start from fifth in his Alexis. Ross Drybrough (March 703) leads the Over 50 group in sixth, ahead of Ted Pearson (Merlyn Mk11/17), the Mk20s of Rob Smith and Chris Porritt and Chris Stuart’s Mk11. Newcomer Damian Samuel-Camps was a strong 11th in another Mk20.

Scott Rawlinson (Merlyn) was one of three drivers disqualified for failing ride height tests and will start from the back.

Classic Formula Ford had some surprises. Richard Tarling, back in Steve Deeks’s Crossle 25F after his own car’s gearbox mounting broke in practice, was the fastest, three-quarters of a second quicker than a returning Henry Chart in his Van Diemen RF81. McArthur will start third, despite a number of spins in a new car, a Hawke DL2 previously raced by James Hadfield.

Peter Barrable held on to fourth in his Royale RP26, despite a late charge by several drivers. He will line up ahead of champion Jordan Harrison, whose Lola T540E does not always go well in the wet. He will be hoping to attack early on and make up ground.

Don Hardman’s two drivers, Rick Morris (Royale RP29) and Stuart Kestenbaum (Van Diemen RF81) are enxt to each other in sixth and seventh, with Mike Gardner’s Crossle extremely close behind Kestenbaum. Joe Ahrens will start ninth in his RF80, with Andy Gosling tenth, despite not looking forward to racing on a wet track.

There were fewer surprises at the front of the Formula Ford 2000 grid, with Benn Simms’s Reynard SF77 setting the benchmark time this weekend. Graham Fennymore had to settle for second, albeit only a few tenths behind in his SF81.

They will both have to look over their shoulders as Andrew Park’s SF81 is not far behind. Park does not always get the best start, but is reliably quick. An in-form Lee Bankhurst will also want to capitalise on any mistakes at the start, having been fourth-quickest in his Royale RP30.

Drew Cameron’s RP27 will line up fifth after Cameron missed the Cadwell meeting, with Adrian Langridge’s SF78 a few seconds slower in sixth. Andrew Storer’s 1979 Reynard came within a hair’s breadth of catching him, but had to settle for seventh.

Adrian Reynard will start from eighth in his Reynard 79SF, with the SF79 of Greg Robertson ninth. Tom Smith leads Class B in his Nomad Mk4 and will start from tenth spot.

Full results at TSL Timing