Those who were there witnessed a historic moment in Classic Formula Ford, and one which few people would have predicted at the start of the day. Jon Nash, his first time in a car for 12 months, won his first ever motor race, with Colin Williams snapping at his gearbox and taking second. Could we be seeing a Formula 1 style sea-change in CFF1600 I wonder….? Is this the first of many wins for the lanky Wincunian ? And it can only be a matter of time before Colin also sees the top step of the podium.

The weekend started well for Mr Nash. As well as our own Classic round, there was an ‘Open’ FF1600 race, in honour of Ian Taylor, who ran the racing school here back in the 70s and 80s, and very sadly lost his life in a race accident at Spa in 1992. Several Classic drivers entered this event too, attracted in part by the  £100 entry fee. This was the first time that ‘modern’ FF1600s were to be seen at Thruxton in many years, and was the brainchild of local instructor Pat Blakeney. Pat also runs the kart circuit here, and put on a karting event on the Saturday afternoon. Jon Nash came third – a sign of things to come.

Although the Waltons were missing, nobody seriously expected Jon Nash to be a victory contender. The car had been left to rust in Bernard’s lock-up, and the driver was equally so, having been out of the cockpit for a full year. To give Mr Kestenbaum a run for his money today was Ollie Robinson, fresh from two good performances at Brands, and circuit specialists Dave Malpas and Andrew Smith. Dave had reinstalled his old engine, and was hopeful of better things following a miserable start to his season.

Hoping to get in on the act was the aforementioned Colin Williams, who is right on the pace this season, Steve Pearce, Dave Lowe, James Gowens (looking to convert his new found speed into some top 6 results), local boy Roger Newman (second here to Nigel Lingwood a few years back, so clearly knows where the circuit goes) and Jumbo pilot Peter Lavender. Steve Bell is another fresh face who is getting quicker race by race, and will be going for the Novice wins from now on – Alan Fincham watch out ! Phil Norris was back out again, as was Andy Hodson (first time out at Thruxton), also good to see Mike Whitehead out to play now that he has got over the financial disaster called a daughter’s wedding. And back to carry on their Brands dual were Mike Saunders and Jon Greenwood.

Qualifying :

Sunday morning was, as expected, hot, and it would only get hotter as the day progressed. The Summer Championship marches into its fifth race still with no sign of the wet stuff.

On only his second lap, Jon Nash was quickest on a mid 28, with Andrew Smith and Dave Malpas snapping at his heals. Midway through the session, it was Ollie on provisional pole (26.8), with Jon (27.2), Andrew (27.6), and Colin (27.7) the only other drivers in the 27s. Pete Lavender banged in a quick one towards the end (a 27.8), and unusually Stuart  found himself outside the top 6 with a best of 28.1.

Ollie’s provisional pole was beaten on Jon’s last flying lap by 4 hundredths ! Colin managed a 27.0 on lap 6 for 3^rd, Andrew took Class B pole with his 27.6 achieved early on. Pete was on row 3, with Dave Malpas alongside, and then Stuart and Dave Lowe on row 4, Steve Pearce and James Gowens on 5, Steve Bell (best of the Novices) and Ian McMillan on 6, Alan Fincham and a bemused Roger Newman on row 7, Phil Norris and Andy Hodson on 8, Mike Whitehead and Jon Greenwood on 9, and at the back Ian Millward and Jon Greenwood.

Mike Whitehead back out to play

 No major dramas by all accounts, the session was painless for all concerned.

The big question then : could Jon Nash convert pole into victory ? He had led before, but thrown it at the scenery. Could he keep his bottle ? Bernard was quietly optimistic. 

For the record : in qualifying for the Ian Taylor race, Ollie took the ‘Classic’ pole on a 26.5, with Jon on an uncannily almost identical time to 2 hours previously (26.75), and Stuart dropping into the 26s atlast. The quick guys, with Pat Blakeney leading the way – were in the 23s – with their average lap speed well over the 100 mph mark. Impressive stuff…

The Race :

It was Colin who led over the line after the first of 10 laps, from Ollie and Jon, with Stuart already up to 4^th, then Pete, Andrew, Dave Malpas, James (a good start – up to 7^th from 10^th on the grid), Steve Pearce, Ian, Steve Bell,  Dave Lowe, Roger, Andy Hodson, Alan, Mike Whitehead, and Jon Greenwood and Mike Saunders.

Classic FF1600 at its best !

Ouch !

Ollie took the lead on lap 2, with Jon also slipstreaming past Colin on the fast run up Woodham Hill. Stuart held station in 4^th, with Andrew up to 5^th, James passed Dave Malpas (‘I was dozing’ was Dave’s excuse), Pete had fallen back to 8^th. Roger was also on the move up to 11^th. Steve Bell retired early on with a broken gearbox – Alan Fincham let off the hook again in the Novice battle. The lapchart shows the top positions fairly static for the next few laps, although by the end of lap 5 – mid distance – the top 6 were separated by a mere 3 seconds.

Ollie leading Jon and Colin laps 2-5

Jon took the lead for the first time on lap 7, and managed to pull out a whole second gap by the end of the lap, with Ollie in second, and Colin and Stuart crawling all over his gearbox. Perhaps this was the lap when Ollie forgot he had 4 gears round the fast stuff out the back ? Maybe so.

Pete ‘Kerb Crawler’ Lavender took the Class B lead off Andrew on lap 8, and held it to the flag. Quite incredible considering the treatment the poor Merlyn was getting as it was thrown over the kerbs. I know not what sort of padding Mr Lavender has downstairs, but it must surely match the finest that Rolls Royce has to offer ? In any case, a fine result.

James Gowens spun into retirement at the Complex on lap 9. A shame, as he was up to 6^th and going well.

The final couple of laps saw the 1 second gap between Jon and Colin evaporate, but Jon held off Colin by a mere tenth of a second to take the win. Congratulations to both drivers on certainly Jon’s best ever performance, and probably Colin’s too.

A Very Happy Man

Stuart finished third, to extend his Championship lead, with a very pleased Dave Malpas fourth. Pete and Andrew were 5^th and 6^th as has been said. But what of Ollie ? He fell off on lap 9, and resumed to take 7^th, with Roger happier in 8^th just ahead of Ian. Further back, Dave Lowe fell away from his usual pace, with Andy Hodson concerned at falling oil pressure, and backed off on the last couple of laps, albeit pleased to get into the 29s on his first visit. Alan Fincham had an uneventful afternoon, but picked up the Novice win , with Phil Norris and Mike Whitehead being the last unlapped runners with Jon Greenwood and Mike Saunders being a lap adrift.

And the Ian Taylor race ? The fairytale continued, with Jon taking 3^rd place overall, just nipping past Steve Burns at the chicane on the last lap. Fantastic ! But poor Ollie went out with a broken coil, when he was ahead of Jon. He had the consolation of being the fastest Classic driver of the day though, with a best lap of 25.5. With Stuart 8^th and the Kerb Crawler 9^th, it was an impressive showing from the Classic boys, amongst much more modern machinery. Well done all.

ADH

Next race Croft, July 25/26th.