1 AUGUST 2019 AUTOSPORT.COM 71
NATIONAL REPORTS CLUB AUTOSPORT
Lackford scored a class win
at Brands Hatch
Norman and
Rachel Lackford
With his tyres suffering from carrying
60kg of success ballast, pre-meeting
championship leader Lewis Kent (Hyundai
i30 N) could only manage sixth in the
opener. But he charged to third in race
two, which became second when Neal’s
ex-British Touring Car Championship
machine was handed a 5s penalty for
exceeding track limits.
Despite leading the Fiesta Championship,
James Waite was winless coming into the
weekend. He corrected that with a 10s
victory over David Nye, who reversed the
positions in race two. Jamie Going won
race three as Isaac Smith was denied a
fairytale success. Smith suffered extensive
damage in a race-one accident, but looked
set to reward Race Car Consultants’ hard
work repairing the car as he hunted down
Going before being hit with a 5s track-
limits penalty.
Luke Herbert extended his MX-5
SuperCup advantage by winning two close
races. Defending from Jack Harding in
race one, Herbert lost out as Steve Roberts
passed both around the outside of Druids,
but cut back on the exit of Paddock to
regain the lead on the final lap. A routine
win followed in race two, before Harding
dominated the reversed-grid race three.
MARK PAULSON
OSS stalwart Norman Lackford celebrated
a special anniversary at the Brands Hatch
meeting as this season marks 50 years
since he made his racing debut.
The 75-year-old began his racing career
at the Kent circuit in 1969 at the wheel of
a Ford Anglia he built from scrap.
“When I went to school I had a couple
of friends whose fathers were interested
in motorsport and they used to recite
Autosport and Motoring News to me
all the way to school, and I just got
hooked,” he recalled.
“My car was a real piece of junk, I
didn’t have any money at all and I didn’t
have anyone to help me or anything.
“I had a road car and it fell over and
I thought I’m going to race it instead. I
bought another bodyshell, which turned
out to be an ex-police car – I took this
home and built it.”
Since meeting his wife Rachel in
1970, the couple have spent their lives
competing in a range of cars and series.
They built a Ford Escort before
switching to a Fiat 850, initially with an
Imp engine before upgrading it for a BDA
power unit, and soon began to dominate.
In 1996 they developed their Saxon
sports-racing car, which competed at
Castle Combe and soon the popular
Cornwall-based driver was dubbed
‘The Flying Cornishman’ by the circuit.
FIFTY YEARS OF RACING FOR ‘THE FLYING CORNISHMAN’
NATIONAL FORMULA FORD
Race 1 Spike Kohlbecker (Ray GR18)
Race 2 Neil Maclennan (Spectrum 011C)
Race 3 Ross Martin (Van Diemen RF99)
CIVIC CUP
Race 1 Lee Deegan (EP3)
Race 2 David Buky (EP3)
CLUBSPORT TROPHY
Aidan Hills/Paul Sheard (Mazda MX-5 Mk3)
TCR UK/TOURING CAR TROPHY
Race 1 Henry Neal (Honda Civic Type R)
Race 2 James Turkington (Cupra TCR)
FIESTA CHAMPIONSHIP
Race 1 James Waite (ST)
Race 2 David Nye (ST)
Race 3 Jamie Going (ST)
MAZDA MX-5 SUPERCUP
Races 1 & 2 Luke Herbert
Race 3 Jack Harding
OSS
Races 1, 2 & 3 Patrick Sherrington (MCR Sport)
PORSCHE CHAMPIONSHIP
Races 1 & 2 Andrew Porter (Boxster)
FIESTA JUNIOR
Race 1 Joel Wren
Race 2 Oliver Turner
BRANDS HATCH
WEEKEND WINNERS
“I get a lot of support there, which is
really touching, people send me pictures
and emails, which I really appreciate,”
said Lackford, who claimed three Special
GT class titles during a 10-year period at
the Wiltshire venue.
“My one regret is that Castle Combe
no longer runs a series for our cars. We
miss Castle Combe and I still test there
once a year, but I would dearly love to
go back there and race.”
After selling his Saxon, which he
believes still races in Holland, he
purchased a Radical Prosport in 2006
before acquiring his current car, a
Radical PR6, in 2014.
But after suffering severe back pain
that left him unable to get out of the car
during one meeting in 2017, he was hit
with a bombshell when he was diagnosed
with terminal prostate cancer that had
spread to his bones. Despite the grave
prognosis, Lackford is determined to
keep racing.
“I suppose as much as anything it’s
a habit [racing] and I’m just holding the
cancer off, defying it,” he said. “All of
our friends are in racing and it’s the
only time we see them.
“By coincidence it’s [OSS] come to
Brands Hatch, which from my point of
view is great [to mark 50 years]. It could
be the last time I race here.”
He showed there was still plenty of
speed left as he took a class win and
fourth overall in the opening race,
before finishing second in class and sixth
overall in the remaining two outings.
Patrick Sherrington in his MCR Sport
took a hat-trick of OSS wins during the
weekend to extend his winning streak
to nine races this season.
STEFAN MACKLEY
For full results visit: tsl-timing.com