It’s a Family Affair: Donington Park Circuit - Saturday 8th July
Photo Copyright: Charlie B Photography
With weekend leisure activities at a premium, and so many options in the relentless-paced 21st century, never has it been more important to spend quality time with family and friends. Now in its 17th season, the GT & Sports Car Cup invitation series - showcasing cars of many marques which raced internationally in a golden era - has always encouraged familial participation. At Donington Park next Saturday, this aspiration reaches unprecedented heights with no fewer than 11 dynasties set to compete within a 25-strong entry over 75 minutes at Equipe Classic Racing’s event.
More impressive yet is the dynamic of the teams, with husbands and wives (Brian and Barbara Lambert and Mike Thorne/Sarah Bennett-Baggs); mother and son (Beverley and Oliver Phillips), fathers and sons (Chris Chiles “père et fils;” David and Matt Green; Paul and George Ingram; Allan and Daniel Ross-Jones and Nick and Chris Thompson); father and daughter (Richard and Alice Locke), brothers John and Gary Pearson and - for the first time - sisters Arabella and Emily Welch in the mix. It’s a remarkable foundation of the pre-1966 series’ popularity.
The Pearson siblings arrive at the second event of the summer with victory in Silverstone’s 90-minute opener under their belts. But the Northamptonshire Jaguar E-type aces never rest on their laurels. Welcome GTSCC debutant Jonathan Mitchell - bringing experience spanning Caterham 7 to Chevron B19 sports prototype - has been super quick in his E-type and regular winners Chiles and ‘Junior’ are never out to make up numbers in their Gary Spencer-tended AC Cobra 289.
Also in the GT4 division are David Smithies and Chris Clarkson, fresh from a fine fourth at Silverstone in their AC Cobra Daytona, and the deceptively rapid Lotus Elan 26R Shapecraft coupe of Robin Ellis, co-driven on this occasion by 2015 FIA Historic F1 champion [in a Tyrrell 011] Andy Wolfe, no stranger to the podium. Like Chiles Sr, former Lister apprentice Wolfe also has an International SuperSports Cup title on his illustrious CV. Jamie Boot returns with his E-type, while the evergreen Mark Hales shares another Coventry cat with its owner Guy Grant.
Austin-Healey 3000s are numerically dominant in GT3, but never discount Martin Melling and Jason Minshaw in the sublime MRM E-type FHC. In the absence of Jeremy Welch, who regularly shares a pair of ‘Squealeys’ with their owners, Crispin Harris/James Wilmoth must fancy their chances in the Crispy Moth Racing 3000. Former motorcycle racer Mark Pangborn and Harvey Woods, the Ingrams and Thorne/Bennett-Baggs are bound to be combative too. In Triumph’s 100th anniversary year the omnipresent Ross-Jones equipe’s TR4 may appreciate Donington’s sweepers, as will the sleek Jaguar XK120 of Christopher Scholey and Rob Newall, the ex-Formula Fordster for years the yardstick by which rivals measured themselves in the dedicated XK racing series of yore.
Only one car is currently entered in the Pre-’63 Sports Racing category, the superb little Lola Mk1 of Nick Finburgh and Ollie Crosthwaite, who have long joined forces to represent two bastions of the historic car engineering world, Classic Autos and Crostwaite and Gardiner. Powered by an all-alloy 1216cc Coventry-Climax, marque founder Eric Broadley’s wonderful tubular-framed chassis design outhandled allcomers when new in the late 1950s, and still does!
With Morris Garages’ centenary celebrations in full swing, six MGBs out-number the Triumph-powered Morgan Plus 4 Super Sports of Simon King/Peter Cole in the GT2 fight. This may prove to be the most open contest in the race, with Mark Hope/Jason Minshaw (doubling-up with his Jag duty) and soloist Oliver Marçais on-form. The Lambert, Phillips and Thompson crews will welcome competition from the Welch sisters, Arabella having returned from successfully completing the annual Fiat Panda Raid to Morocco, navigating and co-driving dad Jeremy to the top British team accolade at the finish. She and sibling Emily shook down their car at Castle Combe’s media day last year, but make their GTSCC debuts at Donington.
The Touring Car division, trialed at Silverstone where it proved competitive, is back with the same teams baying for more. The Lockes share their Austin Mini Cooper S with David Green, whose son Matt saddles the intriguing and ultra-rare Mini-derived Broadspeed GTS coupe. With engine dramas behind them, Dorset Racing’s torch-bearer Ellie Birchenhough has again recruited versatile ERA and Cooper T53 racer Nick Topliss to co-drive her Cooper S.
Donington Park was, of course, the home of Grand Prix motor racing in Britain from 1935-’38. Winners of its races were aviator Richard Shuttleworth and Hans Ruesch/Richard Seaman (Alfa Romeos), Bernd Rosemeyer and the great Tazio Nuvolari (Auto-Unions) respectively. The current circuit, using some of the original layout, was reopened after lying dormant for almost 40 years by the late Tom Wheatcroft in ’77. It hosted the ’93 European GP, won famously by Ayrton Senna in a McLaren-Ford.
This year’s GT & Sports Car Cup events continue with a return to the popular Castle Combe Autumn Classic on September 23 and concludes with another favourite, the Algarve Classic Festival on Portugal’s Grand Prix circuit, the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve, from October 27-29.
