Group C cars steal International Supersports thunder

As a double-header support race to the British Touring Car Championship, the International Supersports Cup drew a disappointing field to Donington Park in late September. To bolster the grid, half a dozen Group C cars were added and, inevitably, dominated the race.

While the Spice SE90 of Chris Randall swept clear in both races, it was Peter Hoffman who headed the older cars in his McLaren M8F. In the opening race, Hoffman started from the tail of the field, but moved through to second as the pair of Richard Dodkins-entered cars hit dramas. Dodkins himself piloted his team’s thundering March 717,but spun out of second, while Nigel Barrett pitted the team’s McLaren M8D with exhaust problems.

In the second race, Hoffman again headed the Supersports cars despite hitting gear selection dramas. As he struggled to find ratios to get the McLaren out of hairpins, former M8F racer Paul Whight swept ahead in his Group C Aston Martin AMR1.

In the first race, former champion John Burton was best of the two-litre drivers in his Chevron B26, but in the second race, John Grant took fourth overall in his B19. A class win also went to former F3000 racer Steven Arnold, racing his father’s B19 after a lengthy break from the sport.