This weekend’s Oulton Park Gold Cup (26-28 July) is a highlight of the Historic Sports Car Club season. With five HSCC categories at the heart of the event, a series of guest races complete a busy and varied weekend of historic racing at the glorious Cheshire venue.
For many fans, Formula 5000 remains one of the most popular and spectacular categories of single seater racing. Those cars live on today in the Derek Bell Trophy for a wide array of pre-1980 single seaters, including Formula 5000, Formula 2, Formula Atlantic, Formula 3 and Formula Ford 2000.
This year’s F5000 field has been boosted by the arrival of six cars from New Zealand as a group of drivers take part in a European summer tour, which takes in this weekend’s Gold Cup. In the second race at Brands Hatch a fortnight ago it was Steve Ross in his McRae GM1 who took victory. He will seek to do the same at Oulton Park but faces many challenges, notably Michael Lyons in his Lola T400.
Lining up against the visitors are a gaggle of UK based F5000s including Neil Glover in his ex-Peter Gethin Chevron B37 and Mark Dwyer in his ex-Jody Scheckter Trojan T101. Christian Pittard is another prime contender in his Chevron B28.
However, the best of the two-litre cars will be right in the mix, and the strong entry includes Chris Porritt (Chevron B40) and the Marches of Graham Ridgway and Mike Bainbridge.
This weekend’s Formula Junior double header marks rounds five and six of the Silverline UK Championship and such is the popularity of the category that a capacity field with reserves is due.
Currently enjoying a narrow points’ lead is Andrew Hibberd, who has spent his time between his Lotus 20 and Lotus 22. He has just a two point lead over the Lotus 20 of reigning champion Nic Carlton-Smith. Alex Morton in his Condor S2 heads the front-engined entry.
Hibberd heads a strong rear-engined entry but has many challengers including Carlton-Smith, Clive Richards (Lotus 22), Sam Wilson (Lotus 20), Nick Fennell (Lotus 22) and Horatio Fitz-Simon in his Brabham BT6, which could be the car’s first race for many decades.
The 60-year history of the 1000cc Formula 3 category is being celebrated in the HSCC Historic Formula 3 Championship. These are the cars commonly remembered as the ‘screamers’, so called because of their high revving one-litre production based engines.
Last time out at Brands Hatch a fortnight ago, it was Andrew Hibberd who scored a memorable double victory in his Brabham BT18. That double success was against fierce opposition from Michael O’Brien in his Tecno and Jon Milicevic in his Brabham BT21.
Ross Drybrough had a fantastic weekend at Brands with two third places in his rare Merlyn MK14A and will be a big contender once more. Welcome additions to the regular UK contenders include Swiss Christoph Widmer in his Brabham BT18A, who is a former winner at Oulton Park. Christoph is joined on the grid by his son Austin who races the rare De Sanctis owned by Paul Waine.
Other leading contenders include French ace Francois Derossi, Peter Hamilton and local racers Josh Sharp and Simon Haughton to make a grid that has both quantity and quality.
The man who is making this year’s Historic Formula Ford 2000 Championship his own is young Samuel Harrison who, at the age of 20, is one of the brightest rising stars in historic single seater racing. The Ripon-based youngster is using a Reynard SF79 on loan from Adrian Reynard and has been outstanding this year despite opposition from defending champion Graham Fennymore.
Another double win this weekend will set Harrison fair for his third single seater title in three seasons. Fennymore, in his slightly later Reynard SF81, won’t stop chasing and battling until it’s all over, and he is a fierce competitor with a big background in single seater racing. From a strong pack, other front runners include Ollie Roberts, Ben Glasswell and Jordan Harrison in the slightly older but very effective Lola T580.
A wonderful array of sports and touring cars come together in one bumper grid of Historic Road Sports, 70s Road Sports and Historic Touring Cars. Having a fine season in the 70s pack is John Williams in his Porsche 911SC and he will once again be a real pacesetter. However, his rivals include Elliot Paterson in a Morgan Plus 8 and Mark Leverett in his Lotus Elan.
Stepping back a decade is the Historic Road Sports division, and from here it is John Shaw in his Morgan Plus 8 who will be vying for overall victory as well as category success. Chasing the rumbling 3.5-litre V8 Morgan will be rapid Elans for Jim Gray, Adrian Gilbert and Adrian Russell. In the Touring Car division, it is Neil Wood in his Ford Anglia who will surely set the pace.
On Friday, qualifying starts at 1410 after practice sessions from 0900.
On Saturday, the first of ten races is at 1005 after qualifying from 0830.
On Sunday, the first of eleven races is at 1205.