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Report of Silverstone Classic
All photographs were taken by Wouter or Pieter Melissen unless stated, and are from the Ultimatecarpage.com website http://ultimatecarpage.com
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The Historic Lotus Register enclosure
John Watson writes "This year's Silverstone Classic event was bigger and better than in previous years. The cars and the racing were of the usual high standard that we have come to expect at these events. For me, one of the aspects that makes this weekend at Silverstone special is the open access to virtually all areas that a standard entry ticket affords. Our stand was situated in the circuit's infield adjacent to Club Elites pitch." Peter Ross continues: "Thanks to the hard work of John Watson and Vic Thomas the Historic Lotus Register enclosure at this event contained the following cars:
Because there were so many races, this account will be limited to those in which historic Lotus cars took part". Race 1 Friday 28th July 2006. The Colin Chapman Trophy for HSCC Historic Formula Junior cars.
This was probably the closest fought race of the weekend and included no less than 41 starters. To keep up the interest of the drivers there were a number of different classes, but the main division was between front and rear engined cars.
Four cars dominated the race and were never far apart. For the nine of the ten laps Michael Hibberd led in his Lotus 27, followed for the first 6 laps by Simon Diffey in his Lotus 20. On lap 7 Mark Gillies in a Lotus 20/22 squeezed past, only to be re-passed the next lap. But Gillies must have had something in reserve, because on the final lap he passed both Diffey and Hibberd to take the chequered flag. Andrew Hibberd had initially held a close fourth place, but had to give way first to Gillies and then, on the last lap, to Gavin Pickering in a Lotus 20/22. So it was Lotus 1-2-3-4-5. Winner of the front engined class was Stuart Roach in an Alexis Mk 2 who was 13th and 1 min 28 sec behind the winner. HLR member Duncan Rabagliati was 34th in his bright orange Alexis HF1 Race 2 Friday 28th July 2006. The Innes Ireland Trophy for Gentleman Drivers GT and Sports Endurance This was one of those infuriating races for the spectators. Run over one hour there is a compulsory pit stop of (I believe) two minutes in which most cars change drivers. Unless you are near a loudspeaker (and on many of the grandstands the commentary was non-existent or inaudible) you had not the slightest idea who was winning in the latter half of the race. Lotus interest centred around Philip Walker in his fast FWB powered Lotus Eleven that he shared with Danny Wright, the Neil Davies/Arnie Black Lotus Eleven FWB, and the Lotus Elite of Stephen Beale and Hamish Cook. Another Eleven was driven by Mills/Montgomery and another Elite by Colley/Snowden. The initial leaders were Bill Shepherd in an AC Cobra (4727cc) but he dropped out after 4 laps and left another AC Cobra (Chris Phillips/Barrie Williams) in the lead. Philip Walker was initially 3rd in the Lotus, but was passed by the eventual winners (John Clark/James Diffey) in a Jaguar E-type on lap 4. On lap 7 a stone struck his radiator and a few laps later he was out. The Davies/Black Lotus was circulating steadily in 11th place and as the race progressed and more and more cars retired they worked their way up to a fine 6th place at the finish. The Beale/Cook Elite was 13th, beating many larger-engined cars. Races 5 and 17 Saturday 29th and Sunday 30th July 2006. The Tony Brooks and John Cooper Trophy races for HGPCA pre-1966 Grand Prix Cars
Both races were over 20 minutes and both were dominated by Michael Schryver in his Lotus 18; the steering and gearbox problems which had caused his retirement at Monte Carlo now sorted. In the first race he was under some pressure from Barrie Williams in the Cooper Maserati until it left the track at Bridge, hit the earth sideways and overturned. Without a roll bar he might not have survived, but as it was he was able to carry on racing in other events. The race was stopped and the result taken as the order when they last crossed the line, so Williams was second!
The next Lotus home was HLR member Malcolm Ricketts in the Classic Team Lotus 32B in 10th spot. There were 14 other Lotus cars in the race. In the second race Schryver was under no real pressure, but Malcolm did even better, moving up to 5th place and knocking 5 seconds off his previous fastest lap in the first race. Race 7 Saturday 29th July. The Woodcote Trophy for Pre-1956 Post-war Sports cars Three Lotuses gave battle in this race which had classes for 1500cc, 2 litre, 3 litre and over 3 litre. Because it was the first Lotus to have disc brakes Adrian Hall's Lotus Mk 10 had to do battle with the up to 3 litre cars, whereas the Lotus 9s of Richard Ashmead/Peter Colborne-Baber and Malcolm Ricketts/Barry Sewell with their drum brakes had only the Osca of Stirling Moss/Gavin Pickering, a late entry of an HRG driven by Conoley/Diffey and an Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint to contend with in their class. This was another of those irritating (for the spectator) races over 60 minutes with a compulsory pit stop. At the start the Lotus 10 was lying 12 th and moved up to 4 th before its pit stop. The co-driver took about 10 seconds per lap longer, but they nevertheless finished 13 th overall and won their class. The Lotus 9s had a battle between themselves for 29 th place (and second in class) in the opening laps, with Ashmead overtaking Ricketts on lap 2. Ricketts only lasted two more laps before retiring with a dropped valve. The HRG was showing surprising speed, lapping some 3 seconds faster than the Lotus in the first 8 laps. However on lap 9 the Lotus speeded up and began slowly to catch its rival. After the pit stops the Lotus was significantly faster than the HRG, and gradually closed the gap. They crossed the line only 4/10 second apart, but the HRG had just managed to keep its lead and win the class. The Moss OSCA was third nearly a lap behind. Races 8 and 18 The James Hunt Trophy for invitation Formula One Cars including the Grand Prix Masters
These races had three Lotus cars amongst the 18 starters, but only two started in the first race and both retired. They were joined in the second race by Sydney Hoole in a Lotus 80 who finished 6th. The two retirees from the first race lasted the course and finished in 9th and 15th .
The first race was very close, with fierce duel between Peter Wuensch in a Wolf WR1 who beat Manfredo Rossi in a Brabham BT42 by half a second. In the 2nd race the positions were reversed.
Races 11 and 21 The Jack Brabham and Cliff Allison Trophy Races for pre-1961 Grand Prix cars.
The interest in this race for Lotus enthusiasts was greatly reduced when it was learnt that the Lotus 16s of Philip Walker and Joachin-Folch Rusinol would not be starting. Presumably the rules did not allow Michael Schryver in his Lotus 18 because he would have been too fast! As a handicap all the rear engined cars (I think they were all Coopers) were limited to 2 litres. Whatever we may have felt about these restrictions it resulted in some very fine racing. In the first 20 minute race Nick Wrigley in a Connaught B4 led from Tony Ditherage in a Cooper T45 (1960cc) who was passed on lap 4 by Rod Jolly in the Monoposto Lister, and these two were never more than a length apart for the rest of the race. I don't know what happened in the next 24 hours, but when they came out for the second race some of the cars were going a lot faster and the battle at the front was even more intense.
This time it was Rod Jolly in the Monoposto Lister in the lead, with Nick Wrigley up his exhaust pipe. Close behind was Tony Smith in the Ferrari Dino who led the old ERA 4D, brilliantly driven by Mac Hulbert. On lap 5 The Ferrari passed both cars and was in the lead! This was the same Ferrari type that Cliff Allison had driven, so it was fitting that it should be leading the race for his trophy. Behind the leaders Bill Kirkpatrick (7) in his Cooper T45 (who had retired in the first race ) was catching up fast from his place at the back of the grid. By lap 3 he was in 4th place, but 11 seconds behind the leaders and by lap 7 he had reduced this to only 4 seconds with what looked like three laps to go. Then the Safety Car was sent out and they circulated slowly for two laps until the last lap on which Nick Wrigley squeezed past to cross the line just 6/10 seconds ahead of the Ferrari. The Safety Car had allowed John Clark in his Cooper T43 to catch up the Cooper driven by Bill Kirkpatrick, who was in 4th place, and on the final lap they both tried to pass the Lister, but only Kirkpatrick succeeded. Race 12 The Denny Hulme Trophy Race for World Sports Masters This race contained three Lotus 23s (all with 1600 cc engines) entered for the Barth Trophy which was for pre-1966 cars up to 2000cc. The main race was dominated by the Lola T70 of Jonathan Baker with a 5 litre Chevrolet engine who led throughout, apart from the period of the pit stops which made it hard to follow.
In the Barth Trophy class, although making easily the fastest practice time (2.4 seconds quicker than the next 23), the Anthony Hancock/ David Cooke car was clearly in trouble from the start and lasted only 3 laps.
The French-entered Dominique Bareille/Richard Gletton Lotus 23 came round in 36th place on the opening lap and was circulating about nine seconds slower than its best practice time until its pit stop on lap 13. The new driver then lapped consistently at or below their best practice time to finish 24th and third in class, some 35 seconds behind the class leader.
The Michael Hibberd/Mark Woodhouse Lotus 23 was in 31st place after the first lap and then lapped within a second of its best practice time until the pit stop on lap 10, by which time it had reached 20th place. The Safety Car then came out for a few laps which confused matters not a little, but after that the normal pace was resumed and they got within sight of the class leader – but had to settle for 20th place, 2nd in class and eight seconds behind.
The Chris Jolly/Steve Farthing Lotus 23 came round in 33rd place after the first lap and eventually passed its rival (the Hibberd/Woodhouse car) by virtue of a faster pit stop. After that it held its lead to finish a fine 18th overall and win the class. Race 20 The Duncan Hamilton Trophy for the BRDC Historic Sports Car Championship
Lotus cars have done very well in this championship in previous years, with Philip Walker winning for two years in succession with his Lotus 15. The programme explained the rather complicated rules for those cars eligibility and the various classes. For for the benefit of those unfamiliar with them I give them in full: A series for historic sportsracing cars. Class A Cars over 1.5 litres, built between Jan 1st 1954 and Dec 31st 1960. Those with Coventry Climax engines may not exceed 2 litres. Class B Cars up to 1.5 litres, built between Jan 1st 1954 and Dec 31st 1960. Class C Cars of any engine capacity, built between Jan 1st 1947 and Dec 31st 1955. Class D Ca rs up to 1.1 litres, built between Jan 1st 1954 and Dec 31st 1960. Class T Trophy class for non-registered competitors in cars which are in period but outside of classes A to D.
This was round 9 of the eleven round championship and before the race the leaders were:
There were 10 Lotuses in the race, 2 Seventeens, 4 Fifteens, and 4 Elevens. The race was dominated by three Cooper Monacos who were seldom more than 2 seconds apart and it was a race long duel between Simon Hadfield and Graeme Dodd, but the latter just could not find a way past. Philip Walker in the Lotus 15 took 4th place, but was caught and nearly passed by Peter Hardman in the 3 litre Aston Martin DBR1.
Peter Horsman won Class B, but had to see off a challenge from Jamie McIntyre in the 1100cc Rejo Mk III, who finished less than half a second behind him, and Rupert Whyte in his 1460 cc. Lotus Eleven who actually put up the fastest Class B lap. Neil Davies was not circulating at his normal pace in his usually very rapid Lotus Eleven with 1460 cc FWB engine.
Acknowledgement This report would not have been possible without the online race results, lap charts and lap times made available by MST Sports Timing Ltd on their website http://www.msttiming.com
Peter Ross - Falmouth 16th September 2006
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