NEWS
Hose is back racing after a long sabbatical
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The Club ’ s latest
Hose breaks 20-year absence to return to single-seaters
Scotsman Neil Hose , once a rising star of saloon car racing , says that coming back into racing this season in Historic Formula Ford is the realisation of a long held dream . Back in the 1990s Hose did some Formula Vauxhall Junior racing , before switching to the Fiesta Challenge which offered better sponsorship opportunities . He worked hard to try and win the Ford BTCC drive that went with the 1998 Fiesta Zetec title . However , after being bundled out of contention at his home circuit of Knockhill Hose walked away from the sport completely , promising that one day he would return to racing on his own terms when he could afford it .
“ Racing was no longer an option , and I walked away from it in 1998 ,” said Hose . “ I needed to find a job that one day would allow me to race for fun .” He stayed away from racing completely and trained as an airline pilot . Finally , 20 years
Baldwin and Fletcher to be remembered at Croft
The 50th anniversary of the creation of the Super Saloons category will be a key celebration at the Croft Historic Festival on 10-11 August , with special trophies in memory of two national racing legends . The HSCC is the race organising club for the event . The Special Saloons will be competing for the Peter Baldwin Trophy , a trophy that he won in 1979 for earning the most Gold Star Awards for race wins in national racing . The Modsports drivers
will be competing for the Jon Fletcher Trophy , which was presented to the Lancastrian for his five race victories at the Rufforth circuit during 1973 .
The trophies will be presented on an annual basis and will always remain the property of the Baldwin and Fletcher families .
It is hoped that the ex-Gerry Marshall ‘ Baby Bertha ’ Vauxhall Firenza of Joe Ward will be on hand to be joined by the Ford V8 powered Austin A30
later , after starting a family and building his career , he was able to think about going racing .
He opted to restart in the MINI Challenge in Scotland in 2020 but that plan was wrecked by Covid . “ I got so close to the dream , and then it was gone again ,” he admitted .
In 2021 and ‘ 22 he showed his ability in the MINI despite various car problems . But in 2023 after being taken out of two early season races by poor driving , he stopped racing the MINI and started looking at other options for 2024 .
“ I started looking down south , because I wanted to do the big circuits again and I wanted to race a single seater . I saw Historic Formula Ford , and it seemed to fit . I ’ m loving it , but it ’ s a steep learning curve after such a long break !” Hose has already shown race winning pace in Historic Formula Ford in his Merlyn Mk20 .
Some special trophies will be presented at Croft
of Andrew Willis and the outrageous Morris Minor V8 of Craig Percy .
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