Memoirs of Easter Racing

Easter Racing at Oulton Park 1985

Easter, as always brings the start of the season and the anticipation of an exciting and successful year ahead. Some time ago I wrote about an Easter weekend in the Modsports days in the late 70s. This time I’m enjoying fond memories of Easter 1985, during my “Delusions of Grandeur” Era!

The Gold Cup at Oulton Park was always held on Good Friday. In the past it had been a non-championship F1 race and in later years F2 and F3. We had been at the Gold Cup in the Modsports days as a support race to F3, it was always a lovely atmosphere in the Park land setting.

I had won National Championships with my Mini Marcos and the Castle Combe GT Championship twice with a Davrian. I was now moving into “the big league” and bought a Sports 2000 Royale RP37.

The major UK Sports Car Championship at that time was Thunder Sports supported by John Foulson and Atlantic Computers. The cars were really exciting big engined sports cars driven by big name drivers, Ian Flux, Ian Taylor, David Sears, Steve Soper, Tiff Needell, John Sheldon, Anthony Reid and others of similar pedigree. The programme page shows the entries. Some cars would seat a wealthy owner paired up with an experienced driver.

To fill the grid Thundersport had a class for the Sports 2000 cars. On the face of it the Sports 2000 cars, with only a blue printed 2 litre Ford Pinto engine were not going to be competitive. However they were nimble, reliable and could be driven hard for the full race, which was normally about an hour and a half. In a wet race they could be an outright winner.

Thundersports was a two driver race so a driver change was required at the pitstop when the cars were refuelled. Refuelling was from hand held churns with quick break dry couplings (more about this later).

Ready to enter the big time I had the car, assumed I had the skill, found the second driver Bill Combes who now runs the Racing School at Thruxton and put in an entry. Actually it was not as bad as it sounds as I had been racing S2000 for a year, Bill was racing F3 and S2000 and we had both been working for Ian Taylor on his BMW and Rover track days so we knew the circuit very well.

Other competitors arrived with their mechanics and trucks and set up the night before. We arrived the morning of the race with our hired Bedford CF with the car on a trailer. Even a prestigious race event such as this was run over one day; practice in the morning race in the afternoon.

Practice ran well with no problems. Bill and I had worked together for some years and we had our 2 regular mechanics. Bill was considerably shorter than me so we used a supplementary foam seat for him that fitted inside the driver seat. This way there was no need to adjust pedals or belts. At the driver change Bill and his foam moved out and I moved in. This set the driving order.

This was Oulton in the days of the old café. The cafe was a timber structure built on stilts beside the pit lane. The area underneath the café housed the garages, there were no walls but the back had a fence of wire netting over its length to keep the spectators out. This area was full of mechanics and the refuelling churns. As far as the eye could see were lined up churns full of fuel under the public in the café above! Slightly more concerning for me was the secure mesh fence at the back, this meant that my only escape was to run the length of the pit lane.

Bill, as always drove well in his stint, the driver swop and refuel went smoothly then I jumped in and off I went. It is a shock to get in a car all warmed up ready to go and have to get on the pace immediately. The steering wheel was removable for the drive change and, being security mad, I’d pull very hard at it going down the pit lane to make sure that it was fully locked on. Bill had left the brakes in a good condition, the car kept going and we finished 7 out of 35 entrants.

It was a brilliant and memorable way to start the season.