REPORT : MALLORY PARK
John Williams heads the 70s pack
42
Champions decided at Mallory Park
At least two Historic Sports Car Club racing champions for 2021 were crowned as the club returned to Mallory Park for the first time in a decade for a weekend of racing in September .
The weekend delivered some great racing in generally warm and sunny weather , despite a torrential downpour on Sunday morning that disrupted qualifying for a while .
Gary Thomas and Gavin Johnson
Grids were a little down on what had been expected and it is clear that the clash with the Goodwood Revival had kept some entrants away , while some others were still resolving issues from Oulton Park three weeks earlier . However , those that were there enjoyed a double-header on this friendly circuit , where slick organisation ensured both days ran smoothly despite the weather interruption on Sunday .
For Historic Road Sports racer John Davison it was a mixed day on Saturday when he did enough in the opening race to put the title beyond doubt with another victory . However , that seemed less likely when his Lotus Elan was returned to the paddock after qualifying on a full lift .
The brakes had seized on at the Hairpin but everything was refettled for the opening race and Davison duly raced clear . Later , he was leading the second race when a rear wheel departed and ended his day but it was still a case of mission accomplished in championship terms . With Davison out of the second race , it was left to Rupert Ashdown to score his first overall race win in the hard-working family Elan , while a delighted Chris Merrick took an HRS best of second overall after a tremendous run in his Elan . Remarkably , Merrick ’ s only previous race at Mallory had also netted a podium finish , 40 years earlier in a Mini Miglia !
Historic Formula Ford 2000 featured prominently with a busy double-header .