The Group C Lola T610 at Oulton Park drive in the Oulton Park Gold Cup series opener for £ 500 . By deferring my rent payment ( thanks Mum !) I jumped at the chance . A press schedule meant I couldn ’ t make the pre-race test , but Chester ran the full day .
Come qualifying he did most of the laps too , but I jumped in near the end of the opening session and set our grid time . Race morning dawned wet , and Roger insisted that we both do a few laps in the warm-up in case conditions didn ’ t improve . Again , Le Patron left me a few minutes and I pushed hard , reveling in the chassis ’ balance , to get an idea of what it could do . Chester ’ s plan was to start , run to near the end of the pit window then put me in . But his plot didn ’ t go to script . Just as the window opened , a rear tyre punctured . We didn ’ t have spare , so the ART / Chevron mechanics - who went on to greater things - ‘ borrowed ’ one from the rival Lep car which had broken a driveshaft shortly after the start . Its Dunlop tyre was a mismatch to our Avons and , despite Chester ’ s protestations , Roger hauled him out and strapped me in , figuring we may still salvage a team result .
Apart from the tyre ‘ stagger ,’ and fourth gear leaping out ( because the dog rings were mashed ) causing a huge moment as I braked from flat in fifth gear and changed down for Knickerbrook for the first time - the Hislops deviation was installed in the 1990s . I acclimatised to omitting fourth and kept on plugging away , a strategy which has benefited many a serious endurance racer . It was a race of high attrition , but staggeringly I kept going to be rewarded with P2 on the board . Yes , four laps behind the Group C2 Tiga-Cosworth GC284 of 1981 Dunlop ‘ Star of Tomorrow ’ Formula Ford champion Tim Lee-Davey and Australian commodity broker Neil Crang , but the two-litre class win and an interview with legendary commentator Brian Jones brought jubilation beyond our wildest expectations .
A repeat offer for Thruxton the following month was agreed , but an engine bay fire in qualifying with Wedgewood up ( before my next rent money had left my pocket ) meant I took no part .
So , my best Thundersports result - one which prompted Autosport ’ s F1 guru Nigel Roebuck to remark that the series devalued the Oulton Park Gold Cup , which he ’ d witnessed Maserati 250F-mounted Stirling Moss win in 1954 and ’ 55 as a lad - proved to be my last . History shows that results count and with drivers of the calibre of former F1 racer Tiff Needell and Richard Piper ( Chevron-DFV B26 / 36 ), Ian Taylor / Peter Lovett ( Tiga-BMW SC85 ) and Mike Wilds and Ian Flux preventing a Brindley / Foulston domination of later seasons it was not short of talent .
Wilds has a remarkable record in Thundersports , as the competitor who
Brands Hatch , 1985
won most races in different cars . His nine victories were achieved with Ray Bellm ( Chevron-Hart B36 , Thruxton ’ 84 ), Jim Wallis ( Lola-DFL T286 , Brands ’ 85 ), five in Burke Ratcliffe Racing ’ s Lola T530 - partnering Flux , Andrew Ratcliffe and David Leslie in ’ 86 , Flux and Taylor ’ 87 - two with Brindley in the updated T530 in ’ 88 and reunited with an Ecosse-DFL C286 by Martin Colvill at Oulton in ’ 89 . “ They were fantastic fun days , driving wonderful cars ,” Mike recalls .
The series waned dramatically over its final season , only five cars starting the swansong at Oulton , won by Nick Baird and Alastair Lyall in their TechSpeed Racing-run Lola-Hart T594C . Nonetheless , it served its purpose , particularly by entertaining spectators . Although it had been tried before , as a title , reinvigorating the Thundersports name with John Webb ’ s blessing has imbued it with a sense of continuity . A quality I feel is absolutely vital when celebrating anything historic and , in this case , bridges a 30-year gap to the original era which so many on both sides of the barriers remember as if it was yesterday .
Thruxton variety in 1985
Alan Minshaw ’ s Chevron in 1984
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