NEWS an enduring friendship . Les was a down to earth , genuine character who ran a body shop business in his home town of Braintree in Essex . Ill health forced Les to take a break from racing a couple of years ago . On behalf of the HSCC , we send sincere condolences to his family and many friends in the sport .
Obituaries
LES ELY ( 1949-2021 ) Everyone at the HSCC was terribly sad to learn that Les Ely passed away during February , aged 71 . Les was a great competitor who loved his racing . Though he started on the ovals , he really made his name in Jaguar Mk2s where he soon became an established pacesetter . He later raced an E-type and a BMW 1800 and was always very competitive in whatever he was racing . Over the last decade or so , he often teamed up with Graeme Dodd and they had some great races and a lot of fun off the track as well . The Spa Classic Six
Les Ely racing his BMW 1800 at Castle Combe in 2015
Hours was a particular favourite and Les was a regular competitor at HSCC events . One memory from Graeme illustrates the type of person that Les was . Graeme arrived at Donington Park for his first race in his Jaguar MK2 and showed in qualifying that he would be a leading contender . However , a leaking gearbox oil seal was found after qualifying and his day seemed to be over . Instead , Les and his crew had other ideas and , even though they ’ d never met him before that day , worked for the next three hours to fix the problem and get Graeme into the race . It was the start of
CHRIS CRAFT ( 1939-2021 ) Chris Craft , one of Britain ’ s leading racers of the 1970s , died recently aged 81 after a long illness . Though he made one Grand Prix start , in the 1971 US Grand Prix , Craft was best known as a sports car racer and claimed an overall podium at Le Mans and won the 1973 European Sports Car Championship in a Lola T292 . He was busy right through the 1970 and contested the British Saloon Car Championship with Ford Capris . However , one of his best results came in 1976 when he co-drove Alain de Cadenet ’ s Lola to third place at Le Mans . They finished fifth the following year . His final race was at Le Mans in 1984 when he shared a Porsche 956 with de Cadenet . In more recent years , Craft was a regular visitor to our race meetings through his friendship with Grahame White .
Pierce gets a Peugeot
A former Peugeot Challenge 309 GTi rally car will be racing this season in the hands of now owner Brynmor Pierce . The car was initially built for Mark Wagstaff and was the first 309 to win a round of the Peugeot Challenge on the 1989 Manx National . It was later driven on international events by Simon Nutter before moving into clubman ’ s events . It was stored for nearly 20 years and was stripped of many period parts .
Pierce said : “ I discovered it last year it has undergone a full bare shell rebuild at Rally Prep in Cornwall . I plan to compete in the new HSCC 80s Production Challenge .
“ I think the HSCC has a winning formula on its hands . it already has a great reputation for very clean racing with people respecting each other ’ s rare vehicles , a great atmosphere at top venues and professional organisation . I can ’ t wait !”
Historic Touring Car changes
Peter Wray reports : “ Following the 2020 half season we are looking forward to a full programme of races in 2021 . Peter Hore has stood down as HRSR chairman and Historic Touring Car representative on the HSCC committee and we are indebted to Peter for all the hard work he has put in with the club during his period of chairmanship . Imp racer and twice champion , Steve Platts , has taken over from Peter in both capacities .
Steve Platts is now series chairman
“ We are looking to widen the range of cars eligible to race in HTC and will add to the list of eligible cars prior to the start of the season .
“ We hope that COVID restrictions will be eased as the season progresses and the HTC easy-up and tea urn can be de-mothballed .”
New board appointments
The Club is pleased to confirm the appointment of four new members to the Club ’ s board . Hugh Colman , Kevin Kivlochan , Ted Pearson and Andrew Warner have all been elected to join the board for 2021 . David Pullen , Bob Birrell and Peter Hore have all ended their term on the board and have been granted honorary life membership of the Club as a gesture of appreciation .
Andy Dee-Crowne said : “ May I thank you all for your assistance and congratulate the new members of the board on their appointments .”
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