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Heritage Grand Touring Car Challenge
Heritage GT action to support A1GP feature
The Heritage Grand Touring Car Challenge will feature in one of the
biggest race meetings of the year in Britain when it is a leading
support race to the A1GP event on the Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit
over the weekend of 3/4 May.
A capacity grid of sports, saloon and GT cars of the 1960s and 1970s
will be one of the many crowd-pleasing aspects of the weekend’s fabulous
programme at Brands Hatch, which will be the second round of the
Heritage GT season. In fact, the chance to race at such a prominent
event and tackle the awesome Grand Prix circuit at Brands meant that
places on the 44-car grid have been at a premium, with a number of
reserves waiting in the wings.
The spectacular series of races for period machinery is an incredibly
popular part of the British motor racing scene, with cars ranging from
Mini Coopers to Ford Mustangs and from Jaguar E Types to Sunbeam Tigers
and Aston Martin V8s. The bigger cars have more power than grip, so the
action is always fast and furious and the two-driver format makes for
some great racing.
Setting the pace when the season opened at Donington Park in mid-April
were the thundering Sunbeam Tigers of Chris Beighton/Jon Finnemore and
Jackie Cochrane/Andy Rouse. Former British GT frontrunners Beighton and
Finnemore scored an impressive victory in the season opener, but the
Cochrane/Rouse combination is equally strong and won the second race.
Rouse has joined Cochrane for at least the first two weekends of the
Heritage season and Donington marked the first time since 1972 that the
multiple BTCC champion had raced a car without a roof.
Aston Martins have always played an important part in the Heritage races
and a strong solo drive by Chris Scragg netted a podium at Donington in
his V8, while the classic DB5 of Peter Wheeler/Ben Samuelson is another
leading contender.
Among the saloon cars, the American V8s are to the fore and the
Chevrolet Camaro of Alec Hammond/Graham Hathaway will be quick as
Hathaway races an American car for the first time in his 40-year racing
career. Rick Lloyd/Peter Horsman joined the Camaro ranks at Donington,
but Lloyd will revert to his very quick Morgan Plus 8 for Brands with
Morgan expert Matthew Wurr sharing the car. Indeed, Lloyd’s Morgan could
be one of the biggest threats to the Sunbeam Tigers. Add in the very
quick Jaguar E Type of Mike Luck and the stage is set for two fine
races.
The two classes for the less powerful cars will produce races within the
race, with Mini Coopers of Conor O’Brien and Harvey Death to the fore in
class A. However, the presence of the remarkable Ford Anglia of local
veteran Gordon Streeter will give the Minis a hard time and the progress
of the BMW 2002 of Bob Godbold/Anthony Matthews will be watched with
interest.
Finally, in class B the Ford Escort Mk1 of Tim Glover/Rikki Cann takes
on the Daimler SP250 of Piers Townsend/Chris Conoley and the Triumph TR6
of Irish commuters Jonathan and Richard White.
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