Cadwell Park Report and Photos

It doesn’t seem long since we were celebrating MG Live! at Silverstone, just a few weeks ago, and yet here we are at Cadwell Park for the fourth round of the MG Car Club Championships and Series’. A wet start to qualifying quickly gave way to blue skies and the sunshine, as we prepared for 10 action-packed races. Report by Leanne Fahy, photos courtesy of Dickon Siddall.

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MGCC Peter Best Insurance MG Cup

Invitation entrant Andy Spencer triumphed in the opening race of the day, to claim a dominant race win.

Spencer controlled the pace from the very start, to lead the way untroubled. Behind, Ashley Woodward slotted into second place, as championship leader Alan Brooke harassed him from third place.

The battle for second place was put on hold with a surprise appearance of the safety car. As the field weaved their way around the Lincolnshire circuit, Brooke suddenly slowed and pulled off, just before Hall Bends.

With the circuit cleared, the action resumed, to see Spencer immediately settle back into a dominant lead role.

In Brooke’s absence, Woodward engaged in battle with Richard Buckley, for a two lap dash to the flag. As the pair immersed themselves in battle, Buckley managed to cement himself in second place, as Woodward slipped to fourth, behind Ian Boulton. Buckley’s efforts also secured him the Driver of the Race award.

Matthew Simpson enjoyed a fantastic outing, to race his way from 20th on the grid to eighth place at the end.

Declared a wet race, race two saw Spencer double his success with another victory. Again chased by Woodward, the latter managed to hold onto his second place this time around.

Although Spencer’s and Woodward’s races were untroubled, it was certainly eventful further back. As some of the MG ZR fraternity fell foul of the wet conditions, Alan Brooke managed to steer his way to third place, and the Driver of the Race award.

A number of cars fell foul of the treacherous conditions, to skate across the grass. Despite the lack of control on wet grass, all managed to rejoin, albeit not without a reshuffle of the order.

Buckley held on for a fourth place finish, ahead of Burchill and Dave Nixon. Ian Boulton and Lewis Anderson looked set for a top six result, however, the pair collided out of the final corner, sending them both into the pits and out of the race.

MGCC WES BCV8 Championship

Neil Fowler claimed opening BCV8 Championship honours, after a frantic race. A pole position start gave him the edge he needed to lead the way into the first corner, ahead of nearest challengers Ian Prior, Russell McCarthy and Jonnie Wheeler.

Despite starting fourth on the grid, a fantastic getaway launched Prior into an immediate second place. As the lead quartet toured, McCarthy encountered trouble, forcing him to pull off the circuit and out of the race.

With vital championship points at stake, Fowler held on, despite immense pressure from Prior, to claim victory. Prior collected second place and Driver of the Race, for his outstanding start, ahead of Jonnie Wheeler in third.

Ollie Neaves steered to a fourth place finish, ahead of Le Mans racer Ben Barker, who switched his Porsche race car for an MGB Roadster this weekend. Babak Farsian completed the top six.

Barrier repairs from the penultimate race meant the final BCV8 race was delayed. With just 15 minutes available it was very much a splash to the flag for eventual winner?

Ignoring the treacherous conditions, Fowler and Wheeler battled profusely lap after lap, with the pair side by side and sideways for much of the outing. As Fowler jumped into the lead, the pair continued to scrap. As both fell foul of the conditions, Prior launched through and into the lead, chased by Ollie Neaves.

Despite Neaves’ best efforts, Prior held on for the race win. Neaves claimed second place, ahead of Ben Barker. Barker was also awarded Driver of the Race, whilst Prior was awarded the Driver of the Day. Wheeler and Fowler held on for fourth and fifth place finishes, respectively.

MGCC Lackford Engineering MG Midget & Sprite Challenge

Stephen Collier transferred his MG Midget and Sprite Challenge second place start into a race win, with a comfortable 22 second gap to protect him.

After claiming the race lead immediately from pole sitter Carl Chadwick, Collier was untroubled throughout.

Behind, Martin Morris slotted into a solitary second place, to finish ahead of Chadwick. Ed Reeve had a spectacular start, to see him weave his way from a seventh place start to land in a fourth place finish.

Despite his best efforts, David Morrison was unable to unnerve Reeve and settled in a fifth place finish. The battle for sixth was a thrilling one, with Richard bridge getting the edge over Bruce Carter and Kim Dear.

Despite missing out on the win, Chadwick was awarded the Driver of the Race award.

MGCC Cockshoot Cup

Phil Standish scored a successful end to his Cockshoot Cup outing, to steal honours after early leader Ashley Woodward suffered a problem.

Although Woodward led the way from the start, his speedy launch was deemed to have been too eager, giving him a 10-second penalty.

Although Woodward was still ahead on the road, his position soon came under threat, when an apparent issue saw him pull out of the way. In his absence, Standish happily took over the prominent lead spot, to finish ahead of Mike Peters and Brian Butler. Mark Bellamy collected a fourth place finish, ahead of Philip Bowden in fifth and Peter Burchill in sixth.

It was a great race for the girls, with Maddy Maguire crossing the finish line just ahead of Helen Waddington, following an epic battle.

Standish’s efforts were also worthy of the prestigious Driver of the Race accolade.

MGCC Triple M Register “Baynton Jones Historic Motorsport” Challenge

Tom Hardman enjoyed victory in the Triple M Register outing. A spectacular 24 car grid, saw these fantastic machines thunder around the Cadwell Park circuit for 10 glorious laps.

Despite the best efforts of David Seber, it was Hardman who stole the lead from his rival, to sweep passed the chequered flag first in his MG Bellevue Special.

Seber held on for second place, just inches adrift, with Harry Painter and Mike Painter in third and fourth places. Charles Jones and Nick Hayward-Cook completed the top six. Hardman’s victorious efforts also deemed him worthy of the Driver of the Race award from our commentary team.

MGCC Drayton Manor Park MG Metro Cup

Lee Connell triumphed in a frenetic MG Metro Cup race, despite pressure from championship stalwart Mike Williams.

As championship pretenders Jack and Andrew Ashton seemingly entangled with one another, it was Connell who dictated the pace. Williams had looked primed to steal the lead spot with five minutes to go, however as the last few laps came into sight, the gap between him and leader Connell increased once more.

Despite the gap, a slide of his Metro into the Mountain section of the circuit, saw Williams fight hard for his second place finish.

Dick Trevett had sat comfortably in third place for much of the race, however as the recovering Ashton duo stormed back towards the front, they quickly sent him down to an eventual sixth place finish.

With championship points in their sights, Jack Ashton steered his way to third place, ahead of Andrew Ashton and Richard Garrard, who also claimed Driver of the Race.

MGCC Iconic 50s Series

Bruce Riches grasped the Iconic 50’s race victory, just 0.6 seconds ahead of nearest challenger Peter Edney. Despite a smaller grid, the action more than made up for the numbers.

Riches led the way from start to finish, in his Elva Mk 5 Sports machine, despite constant harassment throughout. Peter Hiscocks had followed in second place early on, however as Edney stormed through, the latter certainly made second place his own.

After losing second place, Hiscocks held on for third place, ahead of Graham Coles and pole sitter Bob Lines. Sadly, Andrew Cox missed out on a race finish.

Edney’s sterling performance deemed him worthy of the Driver of the Race accolade.

MSCC Aero Racing Morgan Challenge

It was a family tussle in the Aero Racing Morgan Challenge outing, as father and son duet, Russell and Elliot Paterson battled throughout.

Elliot had led the way early on, however as father Russell muscled his way ahead, he held on for a close race victory.

The pair had been separated by just over half a second for many laps, but as they navigated their way through a plethora of backmarkers, the gap stretched to over four seconds. As rain began to fall, a decrease in lap times demonstrated difficult conditions. However, as the chequered flag came into sight, Elliot was unfazed, to finish just over one second adrift of father Russell.

Behind, Tony Lees claimed third place, ahead of Andrew Thompson, Dominic House and  Tony Hirst.

Despite a damp start to the day, the sun shone through, making it a fantastic day. With 10 races, comprising cars from across the decades, we had a spectacular array of action on circuit. We are now staring straight into the summer break, and look forward to the next round of the MG Car Club championships, at Oulton Park on Saturday 2nd September.