Silverstone Season Closer for HSCC this Weekend
The championship season for the Historic Sports Car Club will conclude at Silverstone this weekend (15th and 16th of October) with a full 19-race schedule on the National Circuit to wrap up the racing element of the club’s 50th anniversary season. Running over two days for the first time, the weekend will celebrate three drivers who competed in the first Griffiths Formula race at Castle Combe in 1966: the event that led to the creation of the HSCC. It is hoped that Fred Damodaran, Bernard Worth and Graham Walker will all be at Silverstone to present some of the awards to race winners.
With a total of just under 300-entries, many categories will have a double-header weekend while others will have a longer race than usual. While some season-long championships are already settled, six titles are up for grabs at Silverstone and it is the Historic Formula Ford and Historic Touring Car titles that are the most open heading for the final double-headers.
The Historic Formula Ford Championship will come down to a straight fight between youngsters Callum Grant (Merlyn Mk20) and Rob Wainwright (Elden Mk8). Grant, champion in 2012, has the advantage with eight wins from 13-rounds and will clinch the title with a win or two fourth places. Wainwright, meanwhile, knows that he must go out and try to win both races in his bid for a first championship title. With a 47-car entry, the Formula Ford action will be split across four races on Sunday.
In the Historic Touring Car Championship, current points’ leader Simon Benoy is facing a race against time to get his Hillman Imp repaired after a first-lap accident at Oulton Park at the end of August. Benoy, champion in 2007 and 2015, starts the weekend with a four-point lead over former double champion Roger Godfrey (Mini Cooper), but with 18 points up for grabs this weekend Steve Platts (Singer Chamois), Adrian Oliver (Hillman Imp) and Peter Hore (Ford Lotus Cortina) are all in the hunt.
Julian Barter is close to securing the 70s Road Sports Championship title after splitting his season between a Lotus Elan and a Lotus Europa. The man who could yet snatch the title is defending champion Jim Dean (Lotus Europa) who was also the man who leant Barter the Europa to race this season!
John Davison is favourite to take the Guards Trophy and only needs to take fifth in class in his Lotus Elan to put the title out of reach of the TVR Griffith of Mike Gardiner and Dan Cox. Among the sports-racing cars, father and son Michael and Will Schryver (Chevron B6) should set the pace.
A fabulous array of five Morgan Plus 8s will top the Historic Road Sports Championship curtain-closer, while five period Sports 2000 cars add a new dimension to the Classic Clubmans Championship round.
Jonathan Fyda, son of long-time racer John, has secured the overall HSCC/FJHRA Silverline Historic Formula Junior Championship in his front-engined U2 Mk3, and the final championship round will feature a split grid on Saturday. Rapid front-engined entries include Fyda, Mark Woodhouse (Elva 100) and the Bonds of Mike Walker and Andrew Tart, while the rear-engined grid is headed by Peter de la Roche (BMC Mk2), Cameron Jackson (Brabham BT2) and the Lotuses of Andrew Hibberd and Jack Woodhouse.
Sharing a grid will be the Classic Racing Car Series and a non-championship race for Historic Formula 3 cars, while an excellent 30-car grid will contest the combined Classic Formula 3 Championship and URS Classic Formula Ford 2000 Series double-header. Simon Jackson is already confirmed as the Classic F3 champion.
Two more single-seater double-headers complete the programme for the Derek Bell Trophy and the Historic Formula Ford 2000 Championship. The Derek Bell Trophy will be decided between Martyn Donn (Lola T760) and Neil Glover (Chevron B37) in a strong field.
On Saturday, the first of 6 races starts at 11.45am after qualifying from 9am.
On Sunday, the first of 13 races starts at 10.35am after qualifying from 9am.
