Celebrating the 18th season, by popular request the GT & Sports Car Cup race expands to two hours for its sixth appearance at the nucleus of Castle Combe’s Autumn Classic, the third of four events on an Anglo-European calendar split equally and embracing Enna-Pergusa in Sicily for the first time.
A traditional event at an historic venue, run by obliging hosts in a relaxed atmosphere, ‘Combe’ is something all look forward to, as a fine Pre-1966 period representative entry attests. It is wonderful that the GTSCC family is reunited to enjoy fine sport, camaraderie and hospitality sponsored by friends at HP Tyres.
A large turnout of MG enthusiasts in the classic car club corrals will be delighted to see no fewer than six MGBs dominating the GT2 division’s entry. Among the world’s most accessible and sustainable sports cars of the 1960s – BMC made almost 80,000 roadsters in the 1962-’66 catchment area alone, but production eventually topped half a million, and all parts, including new body shells, remain widely available – the rugged 1800cc Bs have a proud international racing history, spanning Le Mans to the Daytona 24 Hours.
Still buzzing from his tight Fordwater Trophy victory at the Goodwood Revival, Marc Gordon (a race winner here last September in his Jaguar XK150) has been snapped up by Guy Harman to co-drive his B. Marc will also be running his Lotus Elite. The other octagon shield-bearing equipes are family affairs, upholding the core ethos of the invitation series. Husband-and-wife crews Brian and Barbara Lambert and Chris and Beverley Phillips [bolstered by son Olly] are joined in the fray by dads-and-lads Nick and Chris Thompson and Den and Dan Pickett. And it’s super to see plucky sisters Arabella and Emily Welch back in their Denis Welch Motorsport-prepared car.
The opposition is strong, headed by a trio of BMC-motivated TVR Grantura MkIIIs, the lighter, slipperier Blackpool bullets piloted by canny veterans Malcolm Paul/Rick Bourne, Piers Ward and spanner man Neil Howe in Joe Ward’s old faithful ‘Fred’ and Guy Grant sharing with Mark Hales. A GT racer since his Turner days in the 1970s, it’s wonderful to see Mark back in the saddle.
Porsche specialists Peter Tognola and Steve Monk enjoyed their Italian jaunt and return with their sonorous early short-wheelbase 911. Bristol husband-and-wife team Mike Thorne and Sarah Bennett-Baggs’s ever-competitive Austin-Healey100M provides contrast, ranged against the Triumph-engined Morgan +4 of Simon King/Richard Plant and the locally-built Marcos GT Gullwing, brainchild of Jem Marsh, of long-distance commuters Bob and Sam Binfield who previously competed in a Jaguar E-type roadster and a little Gilbern GT flying the flag of nearby south Wales.
An intriguing entry is the Lotus Elite of welcome newcomer Michael O’Sullivan, mentored by the versatile Olly Bryant who won two races at Goodwood a fortnight ago in a Lotus 15 and a Lola-Chevrolet T70, and narrowly missed out on a second RAC TT Celebration victory in the ex-Roy Salvadori/Roger Mac AC Cobra GPG 4C. The 1216cc Coventry-Climax FWE-engined Elites – with fibreglass monocoque body/chassis units made by the Bristol Aeroplane Company – are incredibly agile, a match for anything in the corners.
Moving to the more powerful GT3 category a bevy of big Healeys are guaranteed to provide tail-out action on Bristol marque hero John Chatham’s stamping ground. Chatham’s old DD300, the 1960-’62 Le Mans 24 Hours starter in his care for 53 years until 2005, is piloted by co-owner Christiaen van Lanschot and Jeremy Welch, who also shares Doug Muirhead’s fabled 100/6 “The Chairman’s Car”, run from new by BMC boss Sir George Harriman.
Bristolians David “Meerkat” Smithies/Chris “Lord Borneo” Clarkson will be at the sharp end in rorty 3000s, battling with Mark Pangborn/Harvey Woods and returnees Crispin Harris/James Wilmoth, while Richard Locke shares his drive with Matt Green. In the 75th anniversary year of Jaguar’s immortal straight-six DOHC XK engine, Rob Newall/Oliver Marçais will share Sir David Scholey’s open XK120, alongside Allan and Daniel Ross-Jones’ pristine Triumph TR4.
Among the quickest GT4 runners – a mix of big-bangers and rapid 26R competition spec Lotus Elans – father and son Chris Chiles and Chris Jr are gunning for a hat-trick of Combe victories in their AC Cobra, masterminded by long-time CRC crew chief Gary Spencer. Senior tamed a monstrous 8.8-litre, 850bhp March-Chevrolet 707 CanAm/Interserie car to win the International Supersports Cup in 1995, while his lad is remarkably quick despite competing three or four times per season.
A Jaguar hasn’t won since 2019, when Gary Pearson prevailed on his first outing at Combe since his Pre-’74 Formula Ford days. He’s back, sharing his semi-lightweight E-type with Christian Albrec, the 2005 FIA Thoroughbred GP champion making his series debut. The Es of dad-and-lad Graeme and James Dodd, victorious at Silverstone in June, Alistair Dyson/James Dorlin and Martin Melling/Jason Minshaw should also put up stout opposition to the snarling Ford V8-powered Cobra. The Lotus Elan team of Steve Jones and Classic FF1600 champion Ben Tinkler is aiming to emulate Andrew Haddon/Andy Wolfe’s Combe victory in 2020.
Also running to a Pre-1966 timeline, Touring Car queens Ellie Birchenhough (Mini Cooper S) and Alice Locke (Broadspeed GTS) battle it out once again, with ERA racer Nick Topliss joining Ellie in the Dorset Racing machine as usual and Matt Green co-driving the Broadspeed.
The Pre-’63 sports racers could feature a David versus Goliath battle between Nick Finburgh/Ollie Crosthwaite’s Lola-Climax Mk1 and the snarling Lister-Jaguar Costin of John Spiers/Chris Ward. Both versatile and experienced crews are candidates for podium places given reliable runs.
Report by Marcus Pye
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