The spectacle of a small nimble car battling a hairy monster around one of Great Britain’s fastest circuits has enthralled spectators since Thruxton airfield opened its gates to racing on the current circuit in March 1968. That it did so once more as the Royal Automobile Club Woodcote Trophy and Stirling Moss Trophy grids ran concurrently at its 50th Anniversary Celebration, promoted by the resident British Automobile Racing Club before a weekend audience of around 4000 enthusiasts.
Oliver Bryant in his agile two-litre Lotus-Climax 15 and Chris Ward in JD Classics’ snarling 3.8-litre Lister-Jaguar Knobbly slugged it out in twin 30-minute races over the June 2-3 weekend, matching each other move for move while plotting audacious overtaking manoeuvres on the ultra-fast corners which link more than half of each ultra-fast 2.356-mile track. That they won one apiece was fitting, but Bryant turned the tables on Ward – winner of Donington’s season-opener last month – to ace Sunday’s all-important second leg in the smaller machine. Both earned the admiration of onlookers after a terrific encounter. Read full report
British Touring Car Championship leader Adam Morgan co-driving with Stockport engine guru Ric Wood claimed a race victory apiece, gunning the latter’s sensational-sounding Ford Capri round Thruxton’s super-fast 2.356 miles as the Historic Touring Car Challenge and Tony Dron Trophy Group 1 contenders made their venue debuts in a race of two halves at the Hampshire airfield circuit’s 50th Anniversary Celebration event on June 2-3.
Neither Morgan nor Wood had things entirely his own way, however, for watched by a sizeable and appreciative audience, basking in warm summer sunshine on the banking and in the grandstands at the chicane, BTCC Volvo racer James Hanson demonstrated the potential of invitee Paul Pochciol’s newly rebuilt Jaguar XJ12C – a replica of the spectacular but unsuccessful Broadspeed cars of the 1970s – by leading the mighty Capri in half-hour races on both days. Read full report
Full results can be found here
Other related stories: Motor Sport Legends at Thruxton, HSCC at Thruxton
