VSCC Spring Start at Silverstone
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The Club's 2024 Silverstone Spring Start featured a full timetable on both days, with all the usual VSCC races, alongside invited grids from the 500 Owners Association, HGPCA, and FISCAR. This diversity added significantly to the spectrum of cars that spectators enjoyed. The Club showcased a number of important vehicles on track: six stunning ERAs celebrated the ERAs' 90th Anniversary. The weekend also featured demonstrations from F5000s and the Hesketh 308, with race entries including the striking Sunbeam Tiger, LM4 – one of the Aston Martin Team cars, and HGPCA entries like the Alfetta and BRP.
Saturday kicked off with the VSCC Specials Race before lunch, thrilling the crowd and whetting their appetite for more. Mike James took first, and a fierce battle for second ensued with youngster Ben Maeers in the GN Parker securing the position by barely half a second. After the lunch break, the crowd, now re-seated, enjoyed the Owner Driver Mechanic (ODM) grid—a perennial favourite. Unfortunately, an incident involving Sandford Andrews and his Morgan briefly halted the race. It was rerun at the day's end, with Chris Mann and Ross Keeling battling closely for first place. Third place was tightly contested, but ultimately, Clive Fidgeon secured fourth, narrowly missing out on the podium to Max Sowerby.
The Patrick Lindsey Memorial Trophy race was highly anticipated and did not disappoint. An epic battle between Nick Topliss and Ian Baxter in his Alta ensued, but the ERA took top honours, marking a perfect victory to celebrate the ERAs' 90th year in the domestic and international racing scene. This race was undoubtedly a crowd favourite for the weekend. Handicapping, often described as “a dark art,” prepared the crowd for some close and entertaining racing. However, Sara Kellaway outfoxed the handicappers, leading the field by 20 seconds. With David Goldspink in the Nash Acedes finishing second and Tim Parker in the Lagonda third, the rest of the field remained competitive, with Tammo Voigt and Ian Fyfe dueling closely for fifth and sixth place, respectively.
Saturday also featured two races from the invited HGPCA grids. The first race for Pre-1961 Grand Prix Cars saw two Kurtis cars, driven by Geraint Owen and Fred Harper, leading and Mark Gillies piloting the ERA to a respectable third place. The second grid for Pre-66 welcomed Charlie Martin in a Cooper T53 to the top step, with a close battle for third - Rod Jolley in his Cooper T53 just ahead of Sam Wilson in the Lotus 18 370.
Sunday’s racing had a more historic feel, with two VSCC Class Races separating cars by similar speed and awarding prizes based on engine capacity. The slower Class Race awarded prizes to Nigel Dowding, Jonathan Lupton in that beautiful LM4 Aston Martin, and Richard Wiseman in his 'well-loved' Bugatti T35. The faster race saw Theo Hunt take outright honours, with Justin Maeers, Thomas Ozanne, and Trevor Swete also clinching class wins. The 500s joined for two races, with the very swift Alex Wilson winning both. The second round of HGPCA races saw Geraint Owen and Fred Harper again dominating the Pre-61 Race, and Charlie Martin winning after a close dice with Michael Kuiper and Justin Maeers for the top positions. Last, but by no means least, the fully subscribed FISCAR and Pre-55 Sports Car race was once again won by Martin Hunt in his HWM, joined on the podium by his son, Theo Hunt.
