Castle Combe Autumn Classic (2022)

 Preamble

This meeting has always been our season finale but our presence there has not been guaranteed in recent years, and is not so in the future either, since Castle Combe has intimated, more than once, the possibility of changing their programme. It is not entirely surprising, as a number of the races put on there have been the same for years and I’m fairly certain that we have been on the race card for 11 years. In this knowledge and to ensure we had our own race, we elected to buy the grid. Our funds just about allow us to do this once a year and Castle Combe is probably, along with BDC, our best bet to come out ahead financially. Having purchased our grid, we were able to set our own entry fee. In the realistic hope of putting together a grid at least in the mid 20s at this popular meeting, we pitched it at £375. It was still a bit of a gamble given the recently introduced per capita charge which is additional to the grid cost, but it felt like a good bet but one which ultimately failed. 21 cars were required to cover grid costs and two more entries would have covered the additional cost, so a not unreasonable expectation of 24 cars or more would have seen a profit. In the event, we initially had 23 definite entries and one possible (which did not materialise), but the 4 withdrawals were offset by only one late entry, so we had 20 on the day. It actually proved to be one of the better grids at the meeting.

It should be noted that the 4 Invitation cars in the race represented 20% of the grid and the financial implications to FISCAR without them at this race are clear. For the record they were the Maserati 250S of Richard Wilson, the Kellison J4R of Richard Tyzack, Peter Bower’s Austin Healey 100/6 and Vernon Moore’s Bentley Mk6 Special. They are all Pre 1960 cars but non FISCAR compliant for various reasons. The first two were subject to pit stops of 75 seconds, 30 seconds longer than our normal mandatory pit stop time. Peter Bower’s 100/6 is fitted with a 2.9 litre engine and currently on the wrong carbs, but Peter has raced with us before and we will continue to assess the performance of this car and Peter has advised me that he will fit correct SUs to the car. It will remain a welcome invitation car. Vernon Moore’s Bentley is an example of a car that normally only runs at BDC, so it was going to be interesting to see how it would perform on a FISCAR grid. You certainly couldn’t miss it!

The presence of other 50s sports cars in the form of HSCC’s new Griffiths Haig Trophy (for drum braked sports cars 1947-61) who were running 2 x 20 minute races at this meeting raised eyebrows in both camps but in an email exchange with Tony Bianchi, the driving force behind the new series, we both expressed the hope that there maybe a bit of cross fertilisation at the meeting. In the event, Richard Wilson’s fabulous Maserati 250S was entered in all 3 races and joined us as an Invitation car, and Alex Quattlebaum also entered all 3 races in the LECo but had to withdraw following engine damage sustained the previous weekend at the Goodwood Revival. Of our other withdrawals, David Cottingham had quite a severe bout of Covid but assures us that he is now thankfully on the mend, Tristan Bradfield also withdrew, sadly through ill health. (Ed note:- Pleasingly, since writing that, Tristan has confirmed that he is now well). Brian Arculus had entered the Lotus Elite to ensure an entry at Combe, but I think he was hoping to bring the Lotus IX if it survived its race at the Goodwood Revival. As you may have read elsewhere, Brian managed to get ahead of Alex at Goodwood but promptly had to pull off the track with a broken gear selector. We will never know whether the car would have been readied in time, as Brian was unable to race either Lotus with us as he has incurred a back injury which may take some while to resolve itself, so fingers crossed for him as he is hoping to get the Elite to the HSCC Finals. I’m assuming that the Simon Evans Allard entry that did not complete, was linked to a non finish that I had noted, again at the Revival.

Qualifying

The first thing to mention is the weather. It was superb and competitors and spectators must have been revelling in the conditions after being soaked for the last 6 years at this meeting. It was, of course, a week early, and thus at the end of September rather than at the beginning of October which may have made all the difference. It certainly harped back to our early days at the Autumn Classic where for the first 4 years we had unseasonably good weather - yes, even in early October! I have often wondered whether the annual drenching at this venue in recent years is partly responsible for our decline in entries!

It will come as no surprise to learn that Richard Wilson put the superb and very quick Maserati 250S on pole. Richard is no mean pedaller anyway, so this was an irresistible combination and posted a 1.20.715. Paul Woolmer is already quick in the lovely little Elva Courier and has been the benchmark in Class 2 in the second half of the season, but this time was sharing with his hotshoe son, Richard, who promptly put the car on the front row ahead of all the class 1 cars, alongside the Maserati, on a 1.23.407. In 3rd place, Andrew Mitchell’s Lotus Elite also had its own performance enhancement in the shape of ARDS instructor Richard Fores in a time of 1.23.425 the leading Class 1 car. In the normal course of events, professional drivers including ARDS instructors would be excluded although our regs have never said so (they will be amended) but Richard has raced with us regularly at Castle Combe before, sharing with other Lotus Elite drivers, so I agreed that he could continue on the basis of a balanced driver stint and requested Andrew to ensure that his own share of the driving was at least 50% of the race. In the future, in the light of Andrew’s plans to race with us regularly, he has agreed to accept an additional 30 second on the mandatory pit stop should Richard be sharing the drive.

Alongside the Elite was the ever-competitive Jonathan Abecassis in his Austin Healey 100/4 on a 1.24.186. It’s been good to see Jonathan out with us more this season. On the third row on a time that I suspect was set by Nick Taylor was Richard Tyzack’s Kellison J4R on a 1.25.268. This car has always been quick but now seems to have found reliability and it is now required to serve an additional 30 seconds during its pit stops. Robin Ellis was alongside the Kellison in his Lotus Elite and if he was on form, driving solo, would surely finish higher in the race. In 7th place and getting the hang of their Austin Healey 100/4 was Glenn and Rory Tollett on a 1.29.183, quite a chunk behind the cars in front but it was still a strong qualifying position in a car pretty new to them. Justin Beckett was alongside in his AC Ace Bristol, surprisingly the only Ace in the field, on a 1.29.284. Completing the Top 10 were Barry Dye in his Lotus Elite on 1.29.645 and Peter Bower in his Austin Healey 100/6 on 1.30.09.

In 11th on the grid and first of the Class 4 cars, ahead of all the class 3 cars, was Richard Thorne in his Morgan +4 but then Richard is another experienced campaigner (he has another +4 which runs with us as a Class 3 car), on 1.32.437. It was an all Morgan 6th row, as alongside Richard was Mark and Jonny Shears in the flat Rad version on 1.33.009. Alan House was next up in yet another Morgan +4 but this one, a class 3 car, on 1.34.154 and alongside, Chris Mann in the Alfa Romeo 6C3000 Disco Volante on 1.34.503. Chris Bates put Harry Naergar’s Jowett Jupiter on row 8 in a time of 1.35.357 and Ed Shah joined him on a 1.35.471 in his Elva Courier. It was great to see Ed rejoin us and I’m pretty certain that this was the first time that FISCAR have ever had two Elva Couriers on the grid! I was also absolutely delighted to see Andrew Cox on the grid with his Falcon bodied TR3, his first time out with us and possibly only his 2nd race ever in this car, the first being at BDC Silverstone where I lay claim to ‘recruiting’ him!! The car received a lot of a favourable comment and it is certainly a new and welcome shape on our grids. His time was a 1.36.201, and he was joined on row 9 by Simon Jefferies in his Aston Martin DB MkIII on a 1.36.285. The last row was occupied by Reuben Jacob on a 1.37.856 in his Morgan +4 and Vernon Moore in the Bentley Mark 6 Special on a 1.40.209 but would surely go quicker in the race.

Race

It really was a mixed eclectic bag of interesting cars that emerged onto the track on this very warm sunny September afternoon, which even before it started racing, must have been visually entertaining for the substantial number of spectators who always attend this meeting. It was a great looking grid and, as usual, our race did not fail to entertain here either.

The Maserati stormed off the grid, Richard Wilson, immediately ‘on it’ in the Maserati, the equally sharp Richard Woolmer determined to hold onto it in the Elva, if he could. Great starts were made by Jonathan Abecassis and Robin Ellis as they charged into 3rd and 4th places in the early part of the lap but the best start of all was Peter Bower in the Austin Healey 100/6 who had made up 5 places to take 5th, by halfway through the first lap. Unfortunately, Peter’s day of glory was shortlived as his enthusiasm got the better of him heading into Tower where he went straight on - end of his short race, as he was unable to return to the track. All of which promoted the Kellison to 5th albeit already surprisingly, losing touch with the 4 cars in front.

As they flashed across the line, the Maserati held a slender half second lead over the Elva, the pair almost 4 seconds clear of Jonathan Abecassis in the Austin Healey 100/4, who was 1 second ahead of Robin Ellis in the Lotus Elite and these two were also 4 seconds clear of the chasing pack which was led by the rumbling V8 Kellison of Richard Tyzack, closely followed by Justin Beckett in the AC Ace Bristol and Andrew Mitchell who had dropped back several places from his second row starting position, and literally the rest of the field in the order, Rory Tollett (Austin Healey 100/4), Richard Thorne (Morgan +4), Chris Mann (Alfa Romeo DV), Barry Dye (Lotus Elite), Vernon Moore (Bentley Mk6 Special), Andrew Cox (TR3 Falcon), Simon Jefferies (Aston DB MkIII), Mark Shears (Morgan +4), Chris Bates (Jowett Jupiter), Alan House (Morgan +4), Ed Shah (Elva Courier) and Reuben Jacob (Morgan +4). What a sight and sound they made as they charged line astern out of Camp and across the start/finish line and then headed towards Folly, the gentle but long right hander, immediately then bearing left to crest Avon Rise only to disappear from view preparing to brake and tackle Quarry.

Richard Wilson’s race was to be short too, as on the second lap a tooth stripped off the dif and he had to pull off the track to retire. Not a good day for Richard, who had also put the car on pole for the first of the Griffith Haig races earlier on in the day, only to have to withdraw to sort out a leak from a seam on the radiator. Richard Woolmer, who had been the only one to hold onto the Maserati took the lead in the Elva and completed lap 2 no less than 5.6 seconds ahead of Jonathan Abecassis in the Austin Healey 100/4. Jonathan was just over 2 seconds ahead of Robin Ellis in the Lotus Elite which was already 8 seconds clear of the Kellison. A small gap had opened up either side of Andrew Mitchell in the second of the Elites, in 5th place, so the first 5 were beginning to spread out. Behind, a very good battle had developed for 6th between the AC Ace of Justin Beckett and Rory Tollett in the second of the Austin Healey 100/4s, just tenths splitting them as they ended the lap. Now almost 10 seconds behind, disputing 8th were Richard Thorne (Morgan +4), Barry Dye (Lotus Elite) and Chris Mann (Alfa Romeo DV) and not far behind in 12th was the bellowing Bentley Mk6 Special of Vernon Moore which had made up a lot of ground from its lowly grid position. Going better than I remember, Simon Jefferies had the lovely Aston up to 13th and fully embarked on a pursuit of the Bentley, whilst, not far behind, were Andrew Cox (TR3 Falcon), Mark Shears (Morgan +4) and Chris Bates (Jowett Jupiter) engaged in close combat. Alan House (Morgan +4) was holding Ed Shah’s Elva at bay a little way ahead of Reuben Jacob in his Morgan +4. The two early retirements (Maserati & Austin Healey) were also to be the last of the race!

Richard Woolmer may have relaxed just a tad after the Maserati had retired as his 3rd lap was almost 2 seconds slower than his previous one and had allowed Jonathan in the Austin Healey to take half a second out of the Elva lead. Robin Ellis couldn’t quite match their pace in 3rd but was still pulling away from Richard Tyzack in the Kellison. Andrew Mitchell, going better than he’d led us to believe he would(!), 5th in the Elite was not dropping any further away from the V8 but was still having to watch his mirrors, as Justin Beckett (AC Ace) was not going away either despite the fact that he too was being closely challenged by the Austin Healey of Rory Tollett.

21 seconds covered the first 7 cars but the gap to Barry Dye, 8th in the third of the Lotus Elites, was now over 12 seconds. Barry had taken the position from Richard Thorne’s Morgan and the question was whether he could now start to close the gap to Rory, but it was a big ask. Chris Mann’s Alfa was chasing the Morgan and the big Bentley wasn’t far behind with Simon Jefferies driving his socks off to get his Aston within range of Vernon Moore. In this group, but absent from the lap charts, was Andrew Cox in the TR3 Falcon, only to reappear in the lap 4 records, allegedly now a lap down. However, he had neither pitted, nor had an ‘off’ track moment and Andrew considers that there may have been a ‘transponder glitch‘ which certainly seems the most likely cause. It’s a great shame as it means that Andrew would finish the race classified last when, in fact, he actually finished midfield. Mark Shears and Chris Bates were also part of this battling group and still within striking range was Alan House, Ed Shah with Reuben Jacob just dropping back a bit. Alan would be the first to take the mandatory pit stop at the end of lap 4.

By the end of lap 5, Richard Woolmer had opened up a gap of almost 7 seconds to the chasing Austin Healey of Jonathan Abecassis, who, in turn was now almost 5 seconds ahead Robin Ellis, and whilst they were spread out, these leading 3 were in a class of their own at this stage of the race. Richard Tyzack was no less that 17 seconds behind in the Kellison, the Castle Combe circuit clearly not suiting the car as much as Silverstone does. Richard now had Rory Tollett for company, as the Austin Healey driver had finally found a way passed, not only Justin Beckett’s AC Ace, but also Andrew Mitchell’s Lotus Elite. This was turning into a fine drive by Rory and he was now up to 5th, whilst 1.5 seconds back Justin and Andrew were pretty much tied together.

Barry Dye’s Lotus Elite comfortably held 8th place, having pulled well clear of Richard Thorne’s Morgan (leading Class 4) and Chris Mann’s Alfa, but was making no impression on the cars ahead and was now over 17 seconds behind his fellow Elite driver, Andrew Mitchell. On the road, (but as mentioned earlier, according to the charts, a lap down), Andrew Cox was next up followed by Vernon Moore’s Bentley with Simon Jefferies edging inexorably closer. It was quite a big target for Simon to be chasing! The Jowett Jupiter (Chris Bates), Flat rad Morgan (Mark Shears) and Ed Shah’s Elva Courier were also still in touch, although Reuben’s in his Morgan, was now pit bound to take his compulsory stop, and was about to be lapped by the leaders whilst stopped.

The majority of pit stops took place over the next 5 laps, Reuben being joined, on lap 6, by Robin Ellis (Lotus Elite), Richard Tyzack (Kellison) and Chris Mann (Alfa Romeo DV). Richard handed over to Nick Taylor and whilst I expected Nick to be a bit quicker than Richard, the stop was required to be 30 seconds longer than his fellow competitors. Richard Woolmer carried on serenely in the lead, still stretching away a little from Jonathan Abecassis, and now that Robin and Richard had pitted, Rory Tollett was up to 3rd, albeit 33 seconds down on Jonathan. A number of cars had also gone a lap down, but not all due to pit stops.

At the end of the leaders lap 8, Vernon Moore (Bentley), Ed Shah (Elva), Andrew Mitchell (Lotus Elite) and Barry Dye (Lotus Elite) all pitted. Andrew, having acquitted himself well and in handing over to Richard Fores, it seemed likely that the car would be in further contention by the end of the race. Richard Thorne (Morgan +4) and Simon Jefferies (Aston Martin DB MkIII) pitted the following lap and by the end of lap 10, the race order was the usual jumble during this pit stop phase. 3 more cars pitted - the Mark Shears Morgan being handed over to son, Johnny, Rory Tollett handing the Austin Healey 100/4 to Dad, Glenn and the AC Ace of Justin Beckett, who was actually 3rd at the time but about to go a lap down. The only other cars on the lead lap were the Elva Courier of leader Richard Woolmer and Jonathan Abecassis, 11.5 seconds behind in his left hooker Austin Healey 100/4. Apart from these two, just 2 other cars had yet to pit - the Jowett Jupiter and the TR3 Falcon.

As the race entered its second half, Richard Woolmer led Jonathan Abecassis by 12 seconds but everyone else was at least a lap down. Robin Ellis was 3rd in his Lotus Elite, but ominously, Richard Fores already had the hammer down in Andrew Mitchell’s Lotus Elite, and was up to 4th but still a long way behind Robin. Both of these Elites could yet come into play as they had both now stopped whereas the two leaders hadn’t! Chris Bates was up to 5th in the Jowett Jupiter, driving superbly, but yet to hand over to owner, Harry Naergar, who was clearly making best use of his younger, and dare I say, quicker, driver! Nick Taylor had the Kellison in 6th but likely to improve and Barry Dye was 7th in his Lotus Elite. Barry was the last to be only 1 lap down!

The Elva continued to draw away from the Austin Healey, and the lead was up to 18.2 seconds at the end of lap 14 but Jonathan had finally pitted so the real difference was probably about 13 seconds. Robin Ellis, a lap down was still 3rd with Richard Fores closing at 2 seconds a lap. Robin, by his own admission, was not entirely on form so it wasn’t certain that he would be able to resist the Fores charge. Nick Taylor had passed Barry Dye’s Lotus Elite but his 6th position had not altered as Justin Beckett had rejoined the track in his AC Ace following his pit stop. This was a fine drive by Justin but it seemed unlikely that he would retain his 5th place ahead of the Kellison. There were really good drives being turned in by all our members, but I particularly noted Simon Jefferies who seemed to be mixing it well, further up the field than I expected him to be in the Aston. He had qualified 18th but was several places higher at this point.

The last two cars to stop, on lap 15, were the leader, Richard Woolmer, and officially, two laps down (but actually only one!) Andrew Cox in the TR3 Falcon. Richard handed over to his Dad, and whilst Paul is quick, he is not quite as pacy as Richard, so we wondered how he would fare against his own customer, Jonathan Abecassis, still charging on in 2nd place in the bright red Austin Healey. The race win seemed likely to come from those two, given that the nearest challenger, Robin Ellis in his Lotus Elite was over 20 seconds away with just 5 laps to go. Robin’s 3rd place seemed fairly secure as although Richard Fores was going more quickly, he still had a big gap to close. Nick Taylor was up to 5th, having just passed Justin Beckett’s AC Ace but the Kellison was quite a long way back and not lapping consistently quick enough to make any real impression on those ahead.

At the end of lap 16, Paul Woolmer was still getting up to speed and Jonathan Abecassis was closing in on the Elva, the Austin Healey a little under 4 seconds adrift. Robin Ellis was still a further 20 seconds behind in 3rd with Richard Fores another 20 seconds back in the second of the Elites. These 4 were the only cars on the lead lap, the Kellison, a lap down in 5th but pulling away from Justin’s Ace, whilst Glenn Tollett in the dark metallic green Austin Healey 100/4 was dropping away in 7th and being caught by the third Lotus Elite in the hands of Barry Dye. The rest of the field were now 2 laps down but there was still some good racing taking place. Simon Jefferies had finally gained the better of Vernon Moore, the Aston getting ahead of the Bentley but it was still a close dice which was to be fought out to the end. Only a little way back, another battle was still to be resolved, that between Ed Shah’s Elva and Jonny Shears in the Morgan. Alan House was circulating alone, but behind him Reuben Jacob’s had managed to get by the Jowett Jupiter of Harry Naergar who, understandably, was unable to lap as quickly as Chris Bates could and consequently had gradually dropped down the field.

Whilst Paul Woolmer emerged in the lead, it took him a while to get up to speed; in fact, he improved his lap times on every lap to the chequered flag, but, ultimately, it was too little too late, and Jonathan Abecassis took the Austin Healey into the lead towards the end of lap 17, Paul unable to resist the Abecassis momentum. Jonathan took the flag 9.7 seconds ahead of the Elva. In one way though, it was a 1- 2 for Paul since his team had prepared both cars! They were well clear of the chasing Lotus Elites of Robin Ellis and Richard Fores. Richard had closed down a substantial gap to Robin, posting fastest race lap in the process, but was still the best part of 7 seconds adrift at the end.

Nick Taylor brought the Kellison in 5th albeit a lap down and, in truth neither Nick, nor owner Richard Tyzack, had lapped anywhere near the pace of those ahead of them. Justin Beckett’s drive to 6th in the AC Ace Bristol upheld Thames Ditton honours admirably. Almost under the radar, Barry Dye’s excellent drive to 7th meant big points for the Lotus team in the Inter-Marque Trophy since they had 3 cars in the top 7. Rory and Glenn Tollett brought the second of the Austin Healeys home in 8th, just 5 seconds behind Barry and Richard Thorne was 9th, a further lap down in his Morgan +4, a great result for the leading Class 4 car home. The top 10 was completed by the ever-splendid Alfa Romeo Disco Volante of Chris Mann.

Less than 9 seconds behind Chris came the Aston Martin DB MkIII, driven by Simon Jefferies who probably surprised himself with his competitive drive. He certainly exceeded expectation on Index of Performance as he was thoroughly well-deserved winner of the IoP award on the day. He had diced with the Bentley Mk6 of Vernon Moore virtually all race, Vernon finishing 12th, just 1.3 seconds behind the Aston at the flag. Ed Shah’s Elva was 3 seconds behind the Bentley, Ed having worked his way by the Flat rad Morgan but only just holding off Jonny Shears at the flag, so only 5 seconds covered 11th to 14th. Pretty good entertainment for the spectators after 30 minutes of racing! Some way behind, but also completing 18 laps to the winner’s 20, was Alan House in his Morgan +4.

A further lap down, Reuben Jacob’s finished 16th in his Morgan +4, some way ahead of Harry Naergar’s Jowett Jupiter. Newcomer, Andrew Cox, in the TR3 Falcon was classified last of the finishers, but we know that he actually covered one more lap than the lap charts show which would have made him 10th overall, in reality not a bad result at all and bodes well for the future.

Justin Beckett took 2nd place on Index of Performance which gave him more than enough points to take the Whitehead Cup this year, so congratulations to Justin who has entertained all year in the wailing AC Ace - the BMW derived Bristol engine is one of the great sounds of 50s racing! The Morgan team took the Inter-Marque award in the race but the Lotus team in finishing 2nd, snatched the annual Inter-Marque Trophy from the Austin Healey Team.

Class winners were Jonathan Abecassis, Richard & Paul Woolmer, Simon Jefferies and Richard Thorne, and in fact Jonathan and Paul also took the newly instigated annual trophies for Class 1 and Class 2 respectively. In the absence of the Brian Arculus in the Lotus Mk IX at this final race of the season, Alan House had a clear run and took the Class 3 Trophy, whilst Mark & Jonny Shears had done enough in the last two FISCAR outings of the year to take Class 4 honours, although it would probably be fair to say that the enforced absence of Martin Stowe’s MGA and Tristan Bradfield’s Sunbeam Alpine Le Mans made their task a little easier. Congratulation to all four annual class winners. A complete breakdown of points scored in our various league tables appears under the NEWS section of the website menu.

Photo Gallery

1) Pit, Paddock & Qualifying

PHOTo Gallery

2) Race

Tailpiece(s)

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