Just as it had been in the opening four rounds of the Classic 2CV Racing Championship, once again it was nose to tail, side by side and any other words suitable, just to describe the closeness of 2CV racing.
Defending Champion Nick Crispin had qualified on pole for race one, but only 0.400 secs clear of Ethan Sparrow and Seb Jones-White as they headed the 18 car grid.
Crispin and Sparrow managed to get away from the start, with Brian Heerey just heading the pursuers, from the returning legend Peter Sparrow, Andrew Bull, Kris Tovey, Jones-White and Howard Wright, all in close formation.
Bull and Jones-White then began to progress and were into third and fourth by the end of lap three, with Heerey back to fifth and Sparrow senior now eighth.
“I made a good start, not fantastic, but with Nick and Ethan away, I started to work with Seb and we really put the hammer down,” said Bull. “I made my usual terrible start, but made some good early ground, that latched me on to Bully and we started to close the gap,” Jones-White added.
By the end of lap five Crispin was 1.375 secs clear, but Bull and Jones-White’s charge brought them within striking distance of second placed Sparrow.
Heerey, Tovey and Julie Walford continued to hold station behind, while Wright lost places to Sparrow senior, Simon Turner and Simon Clarke.
Within a couple of laps it was a three-car fight for second, but Sparrow was back to fourth. “I had got away OK with Nick at the start, but didn’t have the pace to stay with him. So I waited for Bully and Seb to work together to close on him,” Sparrow explained.
“It had started well, but once they started working together they hauled me in,” said Crispin, after losing his lead to Bull on lap 10, with just 0.579 secs covering the top four.
It began to swap and change and all four had a spell in front. But it came down to a final lap sort out. “It could have been anyone of us at the end, swapping in the slipstream. But Nick got a run on the last lap and I could see Seb struggling, so it was me behind Nick and Ethan. I caught them on the straight, but Ethan tapped Nick and he was off,” Bull explained.
“I was in the gravel at Luffield, so it was DNF for me,” said Crispin. “It was nothing malicious, I just saw a gap and went for it, but tapped Nick. It was a really good feeling to cross the line for a first win, but I wish it had been settled on the track,” said Sparrow.
So neither Crispin nor Jones-White made the chequered flag. “It was coughing and spluttering and stopped at Becketts, I was out of fuel,” Jones-White admitted.
It was an equally close finish for third, with Heerey heading home Sparrow senior, Tovey and Walford, but a track limits penalty dropped Heerey to sixth.
Simon Clarke and George Broadhurst were next home, with Howard Wright taking Simon Turner on the last lap, as they completed the top 10.
Sam Archer was a solitary 11th, while Chris Yates, Matthew Hollis, Matthew Arrowsmith-Brown, Chris Hall and Nick Clarke were the final finishers.
RACE 2
If the first race was close the second was even closer, with Jones-White the initial leader, as Ethan Sparrow, Crispin, Bull and Heerey completed the opening lap line astern, and covered by just 0.968 secs.
But the top four soon tried to break clear. “I had the early lead but think I was holding Ethan up, so decided to follow him,” said Jones-White, after they swapped on lap three.
They managed to gap all but Bull, but then Crispin joined in too. “I thought we would get a break, the race itself didn’t seem to have the same pace,” said Sparrow.
Heerey had started the fifth lap in fifth, but a lap later he had not only caught the lead group, but was into second with Bull now in front and Sparrow down to fifth.
Although Bull had the lead, Jones-White had joined him again, as they tried to break too. “I worked well with Bully in the first race so thought why not try it again, Jones-White added.
Their cause was aided on lap seven, when Heerey flew across the kerbs at Brooklands and took out Crispin on the exit, after he had been third. “I had decided to not to try and break, but stay with the crowd and It was going OK in third or fourth, until Brian put me on the grass. I rejoined seven seconds off the next car, but set fastest lap after fastest lap to get back,” Crispin explained.
“I came out of that incident in third,” said Sparrow, but still over a second adrift of the lead duo and had his uncle Pete threatening him too.
Bull and Jones-White had managed to build a useful lead, but then it suddenly started to close up again. “I just had to hold it together, but I missed my braking point for Becketts on two consecutive laps and so Seb, Ethan and Pete all got by,” Bull explained.
With two laps to go the top seven had all closed up, covered by a mere 0.647 secs, with Crispin having recovered from his off for sixth.
Onto the final lap it was Jones-White, with Crispin third, sandwiched between the two Sparrow’s, with Bull down in fifth.
“I could see Seb and Ethan battling for the lead and Nick was close too, but I got a run through Woodcote and had the lead by the smallest amount,” said Bull.
The winning margin was confirmed as 0.013 secs over Ethan Sparrow. “Nick almost got me on the line too though,” he said, holding his place by 0.076 sec, with Jones-White, Pete Sparrow, Steve Walford and Heerey completing one of the closest top sevens in history, with just 0.549 secs covering them all.
“I got mugged and they drove way, I had expected a podium,” said a disappointed Jones-White.
Tom Perry lost ground in the final laps to finish eighth, while Turner and Wright rounded off the top10. Riman, Glenn Oswin, Laurence Broadhurst, Yates, Hollis, Archer and Jennifer Hall were the final finishers, after Martin Sunderland retired.
IMAGES BY WAYNE PEARSON