Castle Combe Autumn Classic - 6th October

[HFJ Drifter]

Hi Brands
One of your photos of the Formula Junior race captured a first time ever moment. The front engined Condor SII (car 23) and the rear engined Condor SIII (car 12) racing together.
We have just finished the restoration of the SIII and I was driving it with my dad driving the SII.
Can I buy a copy or would you be kind enough to email me a copy?

Thanks

Stuart Roach

[simon drabble]

was the Jaguar race a one off or do JEC have series of historic Jaguar races? I would be very interested to run the Mk2 in that

[lml698]

simon
This format race is a one off but JEC do run an XK Series and I believe they also run a "powered by Jaguar" series for any car with a Jag engine plus another "Jaguar Classic Parts Saloon & GT Championship" for more modern Jags. CSCC run some 60's races that include Jags as do HRDC so I guess they are options.

[Colin McKay]

Simon, pm sent

[FastDB2s]

Very poor write up in Autosport today on the Fiscar race which, arguably, was the best race of the day.

[midgetman]

Marcus Pye was very complimentary.

[LAK]

Delayed post so apologies. What a super race day topped with fantastic weather. Jason and I had a fab race in the Aurelia although a bit miffed it was cut short by 3 minutes - meant the second driver (me!) missed out on a couple of laps. Still, great close racing and some great chaps on the grid.

Our friend Tony enjoyed his Fliers race albeit the car developed a misfire. If he still has the car next year (it's up for sale) I'm sure he'll be out again.

Thanks to Mark, John, Richard and the team for the year of racing. Top drawer!

[justracing]

First chance I've had to post, just to endorse everyone else's compliments it was a great weekend all round. For me the Healey race was probably one of the best I've seen all year, watching them throwing the cars into Tower was amazing not the least one Dan Cox who sadly got a tank slapper on and finished up in the banking in front of me!

[John Turner]

Oh well, I hadn't intended to do this but the urge has come upon me to do something like the old pictorial reviews from a few years back. Might take a while to get through the whole lot though and it's all from memory so apologies for lack of detail or errors!:-

The Aston race did not have the biggest field of the day because it was at the end of a very busy Aston Centenary year and we know that one or two of the cars became hors de combat during the season. The quality was good though and the race entertaining, with a fair bit of commitment from some of the drivers in these valuable cars. The race was won by Chris Woodgate in Mark Midgley's DB3, and although he may have had a bit of pace in hand, he was kept very honest by Steve Boultbee Brooks in his recently acquired DB3S, less than 2 seconds separating them at the flag.

1) A couple of Frazer Nashes were invited to join the Astons, and one, the Le Mans Replica driven by Martin Hunt, caused a stir by grabbing the lead on Lap 1. Normal service was resumed by lap 2 and he eventually fell to 4th but a fine effort nonetheless
2) Mark Campbell in the ex Le Mans privateer DB2, that his late father, Colin had owned and campaigned since the 1950s. A truly original car, Mark retired it after a couple of laps with overheating.
3) Keith Piper's International which I reckon he has raced forever
4) Chris Adams in Andy Sharp's DB2 in which he finished a very good 3rd. I guess as car prepper you can get away with hairy moments. Andy starred brilliantly in it later on in the meeting
5) The leaders heading out of Westway, onto Dean Straight, before tackling Camp Corner. Chris Woodgate leads, and is chased by Steve Bamford in Chris Guest's RGS Atalanta Aston Martin and the Boultbee Brooks DB3S. In his efforts the Atalanta got away from Bamford and ended its race in the enbankment in a bit of a sorry state
6) Steve Boultbee Brooks has not had his DB3S very long and he has got quicker race by race. He clearly loved Castle Combe, his race lap times far improved on qualifying and I wasn't the only one to notice his commitment in certain sections of the circuit.

[FastDB2s]

[QUOTE=John Turner;3318323]
4) Chris Adams in Andy Sharp's DB2 in which he finished a very good 3rd. I guess as car prepper you can get away with hairy moments. Andy starred brilliantly in it later on in the meeting
QUOTE]

Thanks for the report John, forgot about that excursion.
Took the wind out of me when I saw the Atalanta parked at Quarry.

[John Turner]

Yes, Chris, must have been a shock for you and the owner. Are you allowed to say how bad it is?

A few more pics:-

1) The winner on his way!
2) RGS Atalanta leads DB3S
3) Another of the Boultbee Brooks DB3S
4) David Bennett, in another recently acquired and lovely DB3S which David is coming to terms with.
5)Tim Stamper presses on in the DB2/4 (39)
6) The ever cheery Nigel Grice in his DB2/4 (37)

[simon drabble]

John - a meeting is only complete when you have added your photos and commentary so please feel free to continue!!! David Bennett had a green DB3S didn't he?

[John Turner]

Simon, thank you for kind comments but it is not likely that I will be getting back into the habit, to be honest, and I haven't done many of them over the last 3 years or so. They are incredibly time consuming.

David sold the green DB3S/10 which had the last of 3 versions of body fitted to the 3S series and has replaced it with DB3S/115 which has the (arguably?) better looking second series body on it. Both cars, and a couple of other 3Ss that have raced with FISCAR appear on our site (www.fiscar.org) under the cars section.

Will put up Race 2 (Jaguars) within next couple of days!

[FastDB2s]

Originally Posted by John Turner

David sold the green DB3S/10 which had the last of 3 versions of body fitted to the 3S series and has replaced it with DB3S/115 which has the (arguably?) better looking second series body on it. Both cars, and a couple of other 3Ss that have raced with FISCAR appear on our site (www.fiscar.org) under the cars section.

Will put up Race 2 (Jaguars) within next couple of days!

DB3S/10 was a team car with a twin plug head, DB3S/115 is a production car with a single plug head.
They made 11 Team cars if you include DB3S/11 which was built for Rod Carveth from parts, 20 production cars were made.

[John Turner]

Indeed 10 is/was the quicker car but 115 is prettier, in my view. Now how much damage to Atalanta? Not too much I hope Chris!

[John Turner]

Good sized grid of Jaguars for this 30 minute race. I'm afraid I didn't really keep tabs on what was going on down the field but the lead was hotly disputed by Grahame Bull in the E-type (12) and Anthony Reid with a heavy ballasted XK120. Reid snatched the lead briefly once and again later when he pressured Bull into a mistake but a puncture after a safety car period left him with a DNF with one lap to go, so Bull won.

1) The early battle with Reid briefly getting ahead
2) Colin McKay in his E-Type, finished 3rd. Sorry we didn't catch up Colin; wasn't actually aware you were there until the race, but should have known really!
3) Rob McGregor's S -type finished 11th
4) Gary Morris finished 14th in his E type
5) Richard Butterworth (48 - Mk1) and Stephen Skipworth (32 - XK120) finished 4th and 5th, only a second separating them at the flag
6) Colin Youle took 15th in his XK120

[John Turner]

1) Charles Fripp in the Gomm Jaguar Special. The body built by Maurice Gomm in 1955 originally sat on an Alta GP chassis but the latter was reclaimed many years after for an Alta rebuild. More recently, Charles has had the body installed rather appropriately on a 1955 XK140 chassis and running gear which seems a good way of ensuring the survival of this rare body and keeping in period and in the public eye. He failed to finish.
2) Les Ely in Mk1 finished 8th. Another who seems to have been racing forever!
3) Close racing Dick Skipworth (48 -9th), Fripp (8) and Nik Rochez (12th)
4) Simon Seath, 20th in his Mk1
5) Rob Newall was unfortunately excluded from the results for failing to comply with flags in the XK120
6) Geoff Ottley (XK120 - 10th)

[simon drabble]

thanks John - I really hope this Jaguar race develops into something more regular - it sits very nicely with the Aston race

[Colin McKay]

In the Jaguar race the pole sitter qualified on Yokos due to a misunderstanding with the organisers so I was rather hoping that once on Dunlops he would be a tad slower in the race, but sadly for me this didn't happen!

John, I knew you were around but didn't seek you out as I expected you would be rather busy although I hung around the Fiscar paddock admiring the cars for a while.

[John Turner]

Colin, yes, I was somewhat occupied trying to find drivers, old and new, to say hello to but I was determined to see most of the racing as well!

[John Turner]

The big Healeys always put on a good show and the frontrunners are really quick and 'hairy'. They tend also to run closely together in packs. I cannot really remember much about the race detail, particularly as it had a compulsory pit stop and therefore some driver changes, so straight into the pics:-

1) Chatham/Cox Healey 3000 which came 2nd. Dan also came 16th sharing with Eric Woolley!
2) Emma Sevier in the Healey 100M which she shared with her Father, Malcolm Verey
3) Dan Cox in Eric Woolley's 3000 Mk2 leads a pack - see 1)!
4) Jonathan Abecassis in his extensively campaigned 100M - 16th
5) Bruce and Ian Montgomery in their 100S - 20th
6) Tony Worthington and Chris Woodgate - 3000 - 11th

[John Turner]

1) Jaape Sinke came a long way to entertain but sadly failed to finish the race in his 3000
2) Mark Potter and Bill Rawles were given a 5 second penalty for exceeding track limits which by my reckoning cost them a couple of places given the closeness of the midfield pack at the flag. They were classified 15th
3) Mike Thorne and Johnny Todd were best of the 4 cylinder brigade by some margin. They finished 7th in the 100M which was also to feature very strongly in the FISCAR Inter-Marque race later on
4) One of only two 100/6's in the race, it came 18th in the hands of Richard Haythornethaite and Andrew Keith-Lucas
5) The winning car of David Grace and Anders Schildt
6) Guy and Simon Parry-Williams came 9th in their 3000

[one-two]

Great pictures and reporting as always John - a great advert for the meeting. Best wishes, Robert

[John Turner]

Many thanks, Robert.

A 20 minute race in which, numerically, Frazer Nashes and MGs dominated, the former, the race too. Andrew Mitchell's closely FN related HRG took the early lead once Mark Brett in the Ballamy Ford had had his moment of glory but he was hounded, and then eventually passed, by Frederic Wakeman in his Frazer Nash Super Sports which went onto win by just over 6 seconds. Probably the most entertainment came from Patrick Blakeney-Edwards in the Frazer Nash Owlet saloon, who having worked his way up to 4th then tried everywhich way to get by Simon B-E in the FN Shelsley but failing to do so by less than a second but he was giving away half a litre and it was great fun to watch.

1) Mark Brett (Ballamy Ford), Andrew Mitchell and Frederic Wakeman, through Quarrry for the first time
2) Patrick Blakeny-Edwards in Owlet
3) Nadine Geary, a brave lady in Chrysler G-70 roadster which appeared to have wooden artillery type wheels!
4) John Guyatts' Talbot Lago T150C which finished 8th
5) Hamish McNinch (15 - MG C type Montlhery) and Stephen Curtis (23 - Talbot 105) finished 15th and 17th respectively
6) Norman Pemberton's Talbot 95/105 finished 18th

[John Turner]

1) Anne Boursot finished 19th in her MG PA
2) Wakeman and Mitchell Lap the Chrysler
3) Paul Baker took 9th in his FN Sports
4) Charles Jones was first MG home. He finished 6th (behind Brett) in his L Magna
5) The Riley Sprite of Nicholas Lees finished 14th
6) The battle for 3rd, still at it but now lapping, and about to go by Lees