NEWS
Ken Bailey with his painting
The rare Nathan Astra at the Gold Cup
Nathan ’ s car back in the UK
The original Costin-Nathan Astra RNR2 sports-racing car built and raced by Roger Nathan in 1969 and 1970 returned to racing at the Oulton Park Gold Cup in the hands of Danish racer Christian Hope . Running an unusual plywood chassis , the car was last raced in France in the Classic Endurance Series and had not
Bailey at 80
Former Formula Ford and Atlantic racer Ken Bailey recently celebrated his 80th birthday and his son , fellow racer and car preparer David , arranged a rather special present . It was a painting by former racer and artist Alan Raine of Ken in his Formula Atlantic Chevron B29 at Oulton Park in 1976 . We send belated birthday wishes to a regular Oulton Park single-seater frontrunner from the 1970s .
Keeping up with Mr Smith
Richard Evans has supplied some impressive statistics from Andrew Smith ’ s season to date racing both their Historic F2 March 742 and Classic F3 March 783 . Up to the Oulton Park Gold Cup , the tally was seven poles ( six in F3 , one in F2 ), 10 wins ( seven in F3 , three in F2 ), 14 fastest laps ( 10 in F3 , four in F2 ), one championship ( F3 ) and six lap records ( F3 at Donington , Snetterton and Silverstone GP , F2 at Donington , Silverstone GP and Oulton ). Of the lap records not set , Andrew already has the F3 record at Oulton and Brands Indy is missing , but he beat it in qualifying before the races were wet .
The qualifying lap in the F2 car at Oulton Park of 1m34.055s was the quickest ever F2 lap around the Cheshire track , beating a time of 1m34.072s set by Andy Meyrick in a March 782 in 2007 which they thought was untouchable .
The lap record in race one of 1m34.462s compares to the previous F2 lap record of 1m35.450s set by Darwin Smith , and the best F2 race lap in Aurora ever of 1m34.938s , set by Tom Smith in the same car .
Andrew Smith in the F2 March 742 raced in the UK for many years .
With support from the Gelscoe team , Hope took the car to Oulton Park for a rare race outing . “ It ’ is a long way to come here from Denmark but it is worth it ,” said Hope of the 20-hour journey to the Cheshire track .
The car , which retains its original Cosworth FVC engine , is now for sale .
Briefs
n Tony Broster , who sadly died recently aged 80 after illness , was one of the characters in national racing across several decades . Broster was a racer , engine builder and constructor of the Druid single-seater but was probably best known for his role in the creation and development of the Toyota Formula 3 category which has since evolved into Classic F3 . The Club sends condolences to his family and many friends in the sport .
n Historic Formula 2 racer Julian Stokes debuted his latest project , a Lenham sports-racing car , in the Guards Trophy at Oulton Park . Previously owned by HGPCA racer Eddie Perk , this was the car ’ s first run since a full rebuild . Stokes shared the car with Peter Needham who helped with the restoration , having recently raced a Lenham alongside John Waggitt .
The Lenham of Julian Stokes
n Graham Fennymore was confirmed as one first historic racing champions of the season after securing the Historic Formula Ford 2000 title at Oulton Park . Fennymore ( Reynard SF81 ) returned to racing this season after a sabbatical and won six races on the trot through the summer months to claim the title with four rounds still to run .
n Julian Barter ’ s return to the 70s Road Sports grid in his rebuilt TVR 3000M has been derailed by major engine problems that developed at Donington Park in June . A lengthy wait for replacement pistons to arrive from the USA has kept him out of racing and only the Silverstone Finals date in mid- October now remains on this year ’ s 70s Road Sports championship schedule .
n When Historic FF newcomer Nikki Cottrill damaged the front of her Lotus 61 in qualifying at Mallory Park , a new radiator was needed . Nikki and her husband John walked to race control to request a paddock announcement to see if anyone had a spare . By the time they got back to their trailer , they had two offers , including one from fellow female novice Zoe Newall , which was duly fitted in time for the first race .
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