The CNC Consultants Intermarque silhouettes kicked off our day at Lydden. It was good to see Lewis Smith making a comeback, even though qualifying didn’t go quite as planned. An early red flag to recover the spinning duet of Paul Cocksedge and Phil Spinks, allowed drivers a second go at setting a quick time. In the end Ray Harris annexed pole position with Richard Smith lining up alongside. Row two saw Keith White in his BMW Z4 joined by Colin Smith (who lost one lap time due to track limits). Fifth quickest was a rather happy Mick Robertson, as he just edged out Lewis Smith. Row four contained Reuben Taylor, who was still less than a second behind the pole position time, then came Paul Cocksedge (going well at his local track). Completing the grid would be Phil Spinks, Volker Timm, Steve Phillips and Nick Bass.
Race one saw a clean start by Harris, who led away from Richard Smith and Lewis Smith (already up to third). A lap later and Lewis passed his father and chased after Ray. Richard lost another place to Colin Smith (not related). So we now had Harris, Smith L, Smith C and Smith R, flowed by White, Taylor, Cocksedge and Robertson. Spinks was an early retiree on lap 3, followed a couple of laps later by Colin Smith. Meanwhile Robertson had eased past Cocksedge, only to pull off on lap 13. Harris had the measure of Lewis Smith as the gap hovered around three seconds, then on lap 12 Richard Smith appeared back in second place as Lewis had a slowish lap. Nick Bass had an interesting tussle with Volker Timm, which unfortunately ended on lap 16 as Nick retired. Steve Phillips had them both in his sights for most of the race. So the final result was a win for Harris with Richard Smith second (winning the senior class) followed by Lewis Smith, White, Taylor, Cocksedge, Timm and Phillips.
Race two should have had Steve Phillips and Volker Timm on the front row, but probably wisely they elected to start nearer the back. This left Cocksedge momentarily at the front, but by the end of lap one Lewis Smith was in the lead chased by Harris, Taylor and Richard Smith. The white and blue Mercedes was soon up to third, whilst Colin Smith was making good progress quickly climbing to fifth behind Taylor. Lap five and Timm retired, joined three laps later by the luckless Spinks. Up front Lewis used his race craft to hold the lead for ten laps, but gradually Harris closed in and made his move on lap 11. It was then a high speed battle as the burgundy Mercedes clung on to the blue Ginetta. In the end Lewis had to settle for second, but it was a very good race. Richard Smith just held off Colin Smith for third, winning the senior section again. Taylor had the measure of White for fifth. Completing the finishers were Robertson, Cocksedge and Phillips. The latter winning the CNC consultants driver of the day award.
The saloons and tin tops had a welcome bunch of returnees, appearing for the first time this year. Mike Thurley brought along his potent Castrol liveried Escort and managed to snatch pole position from Rod Birley on the last lap of qualifying. The mixed track conditions possibly accounted for some drivers being slightly circumspect. Lining up third would be Glen Rossiter in the ex-Chris Whiteman Honda Civic. The car has been re-panelled and painted black/red and looked very smart, it was therefore the quickest tin top. Fourth spot went to Tony Skelton in his Renault Clio turbo. The veteran racer celebrated his 90th birthday on Friday and provided us with an interesting interview into his long racing history. Fifth quickest was Tom Burgess, going well in his father’s Mk.2 Ford Escort. Alongside him would be Sam Haywood in his usual Renault Megane. Next up were Terry Waller in his Ford Fiesta turbo, with “team mate” Adrian Matthews in his Volvo C30. Completing the top ten were Andy Woods-Dean, who brought his mighty Holden Commodore and Colin Claxton (Mk.1 turbo Escort). Sadly Colin would be a non-starter, as a fuel rail had fractured. Completing the runners would be Graham Richardson (Honda Civic), Martin Reynolds (Mk.2 Ford Escort), Steve Waldon (BMW E30), Dominic Ryan (Ford Fiesta turbo), Lee Cleugh (Audi TT) and Ian Seale (Ford Fiesta).
Race one saw Birley blast into the lead by Chessons Drift. Thurley clung onto his boot lid and there was barely a second between the two cars for the first five laps. Gradually the four wheel drive Escort pulled away as attention focused on the battle for third. Burgess squeezed past Rossiter, but the Honda driver held on well, until the latter part of the race. Further back the progress of Martin Reynolds was interesting. From 12th he made it up to fifth, finishing close behind Rossiter. Skelton had an interesting first lap, when he selected the wrong gear and watched several cars go past. His climb back from tenth to sixth was good to watch. Waller had a steady race to take seventh, whilst the first lapped runner was Haywood in 8th. Sam winning class T1 and just holding off Adrian Matthews. Ryan had a race long battle with Walden, whilst Cleugh kept Seale at bay. Both Richardson and Woods-Dean retired late on.
Race two again saw Birley take the lead as Thurley slotted into second. After 7 laps Rod held a three second lead, but it was Burgess now in second. Tom having squeezed past Mike going into Chessons on lap six. Lap 8 and it all changed up front, as Birley suddenly slowed and pulled off. A sudden vibration had alerted Rod to a possible steering issue. Burgess therefore took the lead with Thurley close behind. Rossiter was charging along in third pursued by Skelton and Waller. Sadly Reynolds had non-started due to a coil pack issue and Woods-Dean pulled off after one lap.
Burgess eased away from Thurley to take a five second win, also earning the driver of the day prize. Rossiter took third, winning the tin tops section as Waller got past a slowing Skelton. Terry took the Cannon’s tin top driver of the day award. Behind Skelton it was Haywood, again winning T1, chased by Matthews. Walden got the better of Ryan this time, whilst Seale (winning TP) beat Cleugh who won class A. Richardson again retired just before the end.
The clerk of the course was full of praise for the good driving standards, as all four races ran incident free. Next up for the saloons and tin tops is Brands Hatch on August 16th, whilst the silhouettes are now getting their own races at Castle Combe on August bank holiday Monday the 25th.