And so to our final meeting of the year on the Silverstone national circuit. For the first time we would be guesting with the historic sports car club, who were celebrating their 60th anniversary. The timetable was not ideal, but at least it was all on one day for us.
Sunday dawned reasonably mild and sunny with no prospect of rain. Scrutineering proved to be a bit challenging for some competitors and it was really sad that David Griffin had an issue with his windscreen. Hopefully he will come back next year. Angelo Massonetto had issues with his truck on his way to the circuit so he was also missing along with Scottish driver Donald Dewar and Adrian Matthews.
Qualifying then delivered the next bit of drama as Rod Birley had a front tyre burst, just as he crossed the start line on his third lap. He was forced to watch the rest of the session on the outside of Copse corner. In the meantime the battle for pole position continued with Ray Harris emerging on top in his Ginetta G40. Warren Farazmand put in a late charge to secure second in his Vauxhall Tigra, followed by leading senior driver Reuben Taylor in his Ginetta. Colin Smith completed row 2 in his Ginetta, then came Richard Smith (Mercedes CLK) and Mick Robertson (VW Corrado). Jon Price was next up in his Vauxhall Tigra, with the similar car of Philip Blackford alongside. Completing the silhouette runners were Nick Bass (Mazda RX8), Baz Johnson (Pontiac Coupe) and Dan Feiven (Ginetta G40). Terry Waller brought his Ginetta G40, as the Fiesta was broken, so he ran in the invitation class.
In the saloon car group, which would start ten seconds behind the silhouettes, it was Tony Skelton on pole in his potent Renault Clio. Leading production saloon driver Sam Heywood would be alongside in his Renault Megane turbo. The next row contained Neal Gardiner (Honda Civic) and Lee Cleugh (Audi TT), then came Rick Skelsey (Ford Fiesta) and Rod Birley (Escort WRC). Jessica Whitehead (Renault Clio) had Phil Bennett (BMW E90) for company, followed by Gary Cole (Honda Civic) and Stephen Rose (Audi TT).
Race one saw the silhouettes head the way, although the saloon car group appeared to be too close and their start was not so good. Farazmand made the best getaway, but Harris soon reasserted himself in the lead on lap two. Meanwhile in the saloons an over ambitious move by Skelton saw him clatter into Cleugh, whilst Skelsey took avoiding action. This all happened at Maggots approaching Becketts hairpin. Just in front of this melee Blackford had been involved in a spin, whilst Bass had disappeared. As Cleugh limped back to the pits with a badly damaged driver’s door, we also lost Price who retired.
As Harris continued to left from Farazmand, it was initially Richard Smith in third until Taylor came storming past also overtaking Wiz has he made a slight mistake. So on lap four it was Harris from Farazmand (re-gaining second), then came Taylor, Colin Smith, Richard Smith and Robertson. A 12 second gap had already opened to Johnson with Gardiner close behind leading the saloons from Haywood. Birley was making progress, after being delayed in the first lap incidents, chasing down Feiven whilst Blackford was further up the road on his recovery drive.
Harris and Farazmand continued to battle away at the front, whilst the seniors had their own fight headed by Taylor. Richard Smith got the better of Colin Smith and started to harass Taylor, eventually to find a way past on lap 9. This was to prove crucial as an incident at Brooklands on the next lap, involving Whitehead and Waller, prompted the red flag to be thrown. As it was coming up to 2/3rds distance a result was declared. So Harris took the win from Farazmand, Richard Smith (winning the seniors), Taylor, Colin Smith and Johnson. Blackford fought back to 7th, with Gardiner holding off Haywood for the saloon car section win (also winning T2 and T1 respectively). Feiven just held off Birley (who took the super saloon honours), then came Skelton (winning class B), who was later penalised for the contact with Cleugh. Rose came home 13th, with Skelsey (winning TP) next up from Cole (winning C). Robertson retired with a broken half shaft, with Bennett pulling off on lap 4.
For the second race we were missing Waller and Whitehead, whilst Bass, Bennett, Cleugh, Price and Robertson had all fixed their cars. The semi-reversed grid saw Colin Smith on pole position with Harris starting from fifth. This time it was Ray who made by far the best start hitting the front at the end of lap one, with Taylor in second and Farazmand back in third. The saloons made a more sedate start, well back from the silhouettes, with Birley immediately powering to the front from Gardiner. An early casualty was Cleugh who pulled off just after the start, followed a couple of laps later by the luckless Price.
The race now settled down into a familiar pattern with Harris leading from Farazmand, then came Taylor, Colin Smith, Richard Smith and Blackford. Robertson headed the next group, initially from Johnson until Bass got into his stride and moved past. Birley had already caught and passed Feiven who sadly retired a lap later, whilst Gardiner and Haywood and Rose for close company. Skelton had fallen back with a suspected fluid leak, which brought out the black and orange flag. Skelsey was easing away from Cole, as Bennett completed the runners.
As the laps wound down attention focused on Birley catching Johnson. On lap 14 the black Escort moved past the Pontiac, whilst further back Gardiner was having a great battle with Rose. Meanwhile at the front Harris took his second win of the day but only by one tenth of a second from Farazmand. 16 seconds in arrears came Taylor (winning the seniors class) from Colin Smith and Richard Smith. Blackford was just two seconds adrift in sixth, as Robertson just held off Bass.
Birley easily won the saloon car section as Johnson completed the top ten. Rose got the better of Gardiner on the final lap, as Haywood did a very slow final tour. An extinguisher cable had shorted out against the battery, giving Sam a rather smoky ride to the chequered flag. Both Gardiner and Haywood won their respective T2 and T1 classes. Skelsey, Cole and Bennett completed the finishers.
So our 2026 season came to a close with congratulations going to Reuben Taylor, Warren Farazmand, Rod Birley and Sam Haywood for winning their respective series. Attention now turns to the awards night on January 23rd. Finally a big thank you to all the drivers who have supported us this year and hopefully they will all return in 2027. The calendar is taking shape, with the dates soon to be confirmed