A good entry of cars ensured closely contested racing, one interesting point that occurred to me was that for the first time in a good while, the field of Grand Prix cars included no straight 250F Maseratis, only the later modified Techmec car of Barry Baxter.   However, so many meetings clash these days that entrants are spoiled for choice and often have to make tough decisions.                                                                                                                                                                                                            In the very hot June sunshine, the air conditioned Press Office was much appreciated, there is a terrific view from it and having climbed the mountainous stairs up there, I was more than happy to stay most of the day, being able to observe and report more than adequately.  During the early part of the day, I had an amble around the paddock and took shots which would have been of interest.  Unfortunately, my camera was stolen later in the weekend with the precious photos on board.  Thanks to the goodwill and assistance of my New Zealand mate, John Hearne and Christopher Scott MacKirdy it has been possible to give a flavour of the day via their donated photos, thanks chaps!                                                                                                                                                                                            Practice went without too many mishaps, no serious incidents other than mechanical ones. This was the pattern for the whole day, which is always a relief.
The first race a handicap 4 lap, was made more interesting by Rodney Seber soldiering on through most of the race to finish in 3rd place with his bonnet flapping open, I fully expected to see him flagged at any time but he was allowed to continue.  Finishing order ; 1st Grant Crawley – Wolseley Hornet Special;  2nd Bryan Gill – Hyper Lea Francis; 3rd Rodney Seber – Wolseley Hornet Special. Obviously a good day for Wolseleys.
                                                                                                                                                                                     The Hawthorn and Spanish was a close fought race.  The Hawthorn Memorial Trophy had an entry of 20 which, after Richard Pilkington had to scratch due to a recent mechanical mishap, was reduced to 19.   The Spanish Trophy (This is the Spanish GP trophy awarded to Mike donated by his mother some years ago) was being contested by 10 entrants. Eventually, after much dicing when the lead was constantly changing,  Mark Gillies was first across the line. Results were: Winner of Memorial Trophy -  Stuart Harper – Kurtis Indy Roadster 2nd Barry Baxter – TechMech Maserati; Winner of Spanish Trophy - Mark Gillies – In Rodney Smith’s ERA R3A;  2nd Ian Landy – ERA R6B                                                                                                                                                                                            The Hawthorn Memorial & Spanish Trophies Race had three changes in lead over its 10 lap duration. Duncan Ricketts made a great start in ERA R4D to pull away from Barrie Baxter, (1959 Tec Mec Maserati) and Mark Gillies (1934 ERA R3A). The pursuing duo began to catch Ricketts, who then dropped out due to mechanical difficulties. It was then a straight fight to the finish for Gillies and Baxter, Gillies finally coming out the victor crossing the line just 0.73 seconds ahead of Baxter. Stuart Harper drove consistently to finish third in his 1957 Kurtis Indy Roadster. This was a poignant result as the top three represented a diverse range of machinery with the winners separated by 25 years in age and type.
Simon Blakeney-Edwards drove well to win race 3 which again was a 4 lap handicap.  He was driving the Supersports Frazer Nash and held off Nicholas Hines much larger capacity  Lagonda LG45 to finish.  The Lea-Francis Ulster of Colin Poynter had to settle for 3rd place.  The handicappers did a good job since the finish was close and another lap would have seen the more powerful machines dominating.
The next race  (4) was a 4 lap scratch race which looked to have the makings of a good scrap.  However, one of the strong contenders, David Fletcher-Jones ran a bearing on lap one which left brother Peter without a drive later in the meeting.   Paul Mullins in ERA 7B drove well to win the race from Tony Seber in the Wolseley Hornet Special with Adrian Paul in the Alvis Grenfell Special coming in 3rd.  Adrian has a very good record with this car and is frequently in the “Points”
Race 5 was 10 laps for 1950s Sports Cars.  These races are always fiercely competitive and this was no exception. Barry Cannell in his Willment made a rip roaring start and squeezed between Gibson and Whyte into the lead at Old Hall. The race is split between drum and disc braked cars. The disc braked cars obviously have an advantage and are therefore classed apart. Much changing of order was taking place with Cannell having the disconcerting experience of being doused in gearbox oil, thus making visibility difficult to say the least he understandably dropped out of contention at that point.  The winner of the Drum Braked Class was Tom Candlish in his Lotus Mk 6.  The Disc braked winner was James McIntyre   - REJO Mk 5
  Race 6 was for the Bill Phillips Trophy for Post Vintage Thoroughbreds and over 8 laps.  A good selection of sports racing machinery was on the grid and was divided into capacity classes. This makes for the faster machinery having to work its way through slower cars, some of them having to work hard for a placing.  Pete Candy in his Riley Falcon special took the lead and held it for 4 laps. He was eventually caught by Tom Walker in the indecently fast
GN which has over 3 litres of engine stuffed under the bonnet. Tom went on to win with Candy holding 2nd place from William Mahany in his HRG.
Race 7 was a organised by the HGPCA and was 12 laps for Historic Grand Prix Cars.  Again in this race Barry Cannell, this time in his Cooper T51, was hot off the line and went into the lead from Malcolm Ricketts in the Lotus 32B. Ricketts overtook on the third lap but could only hold the lead for a short time before Rod Jolley came into contention and took the lead.  That was how it finished with a win for Rod Jolley in his Cooper T45/51 from Ricketts with Cannell coming in 3rd, Race 8  Handicap 4 lap  A win here for one of the stalwarts of the VSCC, Malcolm Elder in his Riley special. 
 
Race 9  - The Boulogne, Brooklands and Goddard Trophy Races over 10 laps. The final trophy race of the day was the Boulogne, Brooklands and Goddard Trophies Race. Ian Landy The ERA R6B of Ian Landy took an early lead here with James Baxter in the single seater Frazer Nash in hot pursuit. They opened up a good gap with Baxter harrassing Landy this was good spectator stuff and promised well until a coming together between the T35 Bugatti of Bruce Stopps and the tyre wall which resulted in debris across the track called for the red flag.  It  was decided not to resume the race Landy was awarded first place with Baxter second. Tom Walker was third which meant that the Boulogne Trophy was his since he was the highest placed vintage car.                                                         Race 10  was another  4 lap scratch which was won by Rodney Seber – Wolseley Hornet special.   A sun kissed crowd of enthusiasts happily made their way home to various points on the map reflecting on a great days racing in lovely surroundings. Well done VSCC.

Photos by John Hearne and Christopher Scott MacKirdy