JEPHallau survived underdog
threat of Burton to win
Sunday ThundersportsJEPRACE CENTRE SILVERSTONE CLASSIC
44 AUTOSPORT.COM 1 AUGUST 2019his ex-Patrick Gonin Martini MK39, run by
Swedish F1 veteran Slim Borgudd. Ian Jacobs
(Ralt RT3) bagged two great seconds,
surviving a triple 360 spin on Sunday, from
March pilots Andy Smith and British points
leader Adrian Langridge respectively. Drive
of the event was Fred Rouvier’s brilliant
climb from 31st to fourth on Sunday,
having spun his Martini out on day one.
A big Bentley presence for its 100th
birthday meant the Cricklewood cars
comprised one-third of the Pre-War
sportscar field, with David Ayre’s Barnato
Hassan Special (raced at Brooklands by
Oliver Bertram) a star turn. It was another
blue marque rep that landed gold, with
Llewellyn father and son up, over top
qualifier Friedrichs after several spirited
exchanges. Patrick Blakeney-Edwards (in
Fred Wakeman’s chain-gang Frazer Nash)
robbed Michael ‘Barrichello’ Birch (Talbot
AV105) of third at the last corner.
Motor Racing Legends combined its Royal
Automobile Club Woodcote Trophy Pre-’56(although penalised to seventh for a
yellow flag infringement) and Christophe
d’Ansembourg (FW07C) climbing to fourth.
Fifty-six F2 cars was unprecedented, and
after polesitter Matthew Watts overshot
Village when Saturday’s stampede arrived,
the wet opener boiled down to a magnificent
scrap between Miles Griffiths (in Philip
Walker’s reliveried Ralt RT1), Darwin Smith
(March 722) and Martin O’Connell (Chevron
B40). A huge rotation out of Copse dropped
O’Connell behind Andy Smith (742), while
Martin Stretton (782) retired from their
midst, BMW engine misfiring.
Tyre choice was critical on Sunday, slicks
the correct call. As Andy Smith tore ahead
on wets, Griffiths – new to F2 this season- slipped to sixth as he found his feet on
smooth Avons. His charge to second behind
O’Connell was committed, but Martin had
things under control. Darwin, sensational in
his early car, and Andy Smith pursued them.
European Le Mans Series racer Christian
Olsen dominated both wet Classic F3 races in
and Stirling Moss Trophy Pre-’61 sportscar
fields on a mega grid. The younger cars
prevailed, but for the first time since 2013 a
Lotus 15 won. Oliver Bryant again danced to
the flag although, prior to retirement, Martin
O’Connell had skated Sandy Watson’s
smaller Lotus 11 to second at his late stop.
Three two-litre 15s qualified in the top
four, crowding the Lister-Jaguar Costin of
Richard Kent/Joe Osborne, but when Kent
fell off in the wet and Philip Walker’s Lotus’s
electrics died, Bryant’s oft-capricious car ran
faultlessly to trump the Listers of Dutchman
David Hart (Costin) and Will Nuthall/Tony
Wood (Knobbly).
John and Gary Pearson scored their fourth
Woodcote win together in a Jaguar D-type,
but Patrick Watts (subbing for Classic
ringmaster Nick Wigley in Peter Mann’s
Cooper-Bristol, started by John Ure) finished
three seconds adrift. Richard Wilson/Martin
Stretton (Maserati 250S) were third.
A fabulous Pre-’63 GT field contested the
RAC Tourist Trophy race, but Martin Hunt’s
tactic of stopping early and installing Pat
Blakeney-Edwards in his AC Cobra – and a
safety car that delayed the Jaguar E-types of
Jon Minshaw and James Cottingham, which
had been ahead – meant they repeated last
year’s victory. PB-E was clear of Harvey
Stanley (in Cottingham’s E) and the Halusa
brothers’ Ferrari ‘Breadvan’ at the close.
The spectacle of Can-Am cars was
welcomed with the late bonus of the
Historic Sports Car Club’s Thundersports
grid, although competitors had a wet track
on both days. Not that it deterred Dean
Forward (McLaren M8F), Germany’s ‘Georg’
Hallau (ex-David Hobbs Lola T310) or the
two-litre Group 6 brigade, which chased
with some rapidly conducted Sports
2000s revelling in tricky conditions.