The season deciders

Race meetings at Mallory Park and Silverstone in October will bring the curtain down on what has quite possibly been the best season ever for the Historic Sports Car Club.

The 2004 season has been marked by tremendous racing from huge grids across all the club’s championships, set within a sporting atmosphere amongst drivers who relish the chance to race cars spanning three decades.

Both the October race meetings, at Mallory Park on Sunday 3 October and at Silverstone on Saturday 16 October, are one-day events with qualifying in the morning and racing in the afternoon from around lpm. Adult admission to either event is just £10, which includes paddock access.

These meetings will decide the destiny of the club’s championship titles and so the racing will be as competitive as ever, and, in a year when other championships have often delivered disappointing grids, all the HSCC classes will have the customary strong grids.

Continuing its support from Motor Sport, the Derek Bell Trophy will bring a glorious army of single-seater racing cars into action, ranging from thundering Formula 5000s to Formula 2, Formula Atlantic and Formula 3 cars from the 1970s as well as the occasional Fl car. So strong is the HSCC Classic F3 series these days that it regularly has its own race away from the Derek

Bell Trophy. Back racing after a long break, former single-seater hotshot Richard Trott is a front runner, along with the rare Martini of Ian Jacobs in this excellent series for 1970s and early 1980s F3 cars.

The HSCC Historic Racing Saloon Register Championship has been another crowd-pleaser in 2004 and bumper grids will battle out the two championship deciding races. Graeme Dodd’s title bid took a knock at Oulton Park last time out when his Jaguar Ml(2 was damaged, but he has pledged to be back for the final two races. One of his main rivals these days is his son James in an Alfa Romeo, and Mallory in particular could give James a real shot at beating the Jag! Meanwhile, defending champion Adrian Oliver heads a squadron of Hilhnan Imps down in class E. Dodd senior will also lead the field in the Vredestein JEC Jaguar XK Championship. Close racing is assured in the HSCC/Legends Racing Historic FF1600 Championship. Although

Neil Fowler now has a vice-like grip on the title, he has plenty of rivals and the Oulton Park race showed that the Crossles of Nigel Bancroft and series newcomer Nelson Rowe are capable of making life tough for the flying Fowler.

Sean Walker is a strong force in the HSCGMillers Oils Classic Sports Car Championship in his superb Lotus Elan 26R, but HSCC vice-chairman Stephen Minoprio is giving spirited chase in his Marcos 1800GT as Jaguar E Types, TVRs and AC Cobras all pack the field.

Young Edwin Jowsey is a strong force in the HSCC Classic Racing Car Championship in his Brabham BT28, while Steven Worrad recently debuted an exRolf Stommelen Brabham BT30 in the series after it had lain unused for almost 30 years!

Wrapping up the programmes will be rounds of the HSCC’s Historic Road Sports and 70s Road Sports Championship, both with tremendous entries . Bruce Stapleton (Morgan +8) and Charles Barter (Datsun 2401) are amongst the pacesetters.

So, for great value days out watching some of the best racing in Britain, try Mallory Park (Sunday 3 October) or Silverstone (Saturday 16 October)!